"Good riddance!" I yelled after them, going to the door to watch as two cars backed out and sped off up the winding road. It was at that moment that I realized I was stranded, alone, without money, identification, or even a clear knowledge of the name of the town in which I'd been dumped. "Hey? Anyone? I don't have a car. Hello?"
I turned back to the clergyman, but he'd disappeared as well, leaving me standing on a windy cliff, outside of a cold, dank little stone church, clutching a marriage certificate that I knew was false... but I had a horrible suspicion no one else would see it that way.
"Married to a vampire," I said out loud, the words whipped away on the wind. "Oh, joy. Now what am I going to do?"
"I don't suppose you know the way to Ostri?"
I turned my head and stared with absolutely no surprise at the translucent figure that stood there. I raised an eyebrow at the spectral horse next to him, but I didn't say one word about the fact that yet another ghost had descended upon me. "I'm afraid I'm new around here. You're... er... dead?"
"As you can see." The man, who was dressed in what looked to be Victorian wear, frowned. "You're the reaper and you don't know where Ostri is?"
"Afraid not, but since I'm evidently now the ghostly information office, I guess I'd better find out. What's your name?"
"Ulfur."
"How do you do? I'm Pia, and yes, I'm the Zorya." I held up my hand. The moonstone had once again converted itself into a small lantern. "But I'm afraid I'm new to the job, and don't know all the ins and outs of the whole thing yet. So you'll have to join the others while you wait for me to figure out what's what."
"Others?" he asked.
"Three other ghosts. They're back in town. I don't suppose you have a magical way of transporting us there?"
He pursed his lips and eyed me curiously.
"No? I didn't think so. Well, I guess we'd better go see if there's a bus or something. You can come with me."
"And the others?" Ulfur asked, falling into step with me as I started to pick my way down the rocky hillside to the fishing village below.
"I told you - they're back in town. I think. I didn't actually see them when I left them, but that could be because Anniki had the stone."
"No, I meant the others here." He waved toward the shore.
I cautiously moved over to the edge of the cliff and looked down. Along the craggy shoreline, a group of about twelve ghosts roamed aimlessly. They looked up as I stood staring down in increasing despair. More ghosts. Just what I needed to complicate things.
"This is the reaper," Ulfur bellowed down to them.
They waved.
I lifted a wan hand and waved back.
"You're all ghosts?" I asked Ulfur.
He nodded and patted his horse's head. "Landslide. Wiped out half the village. I had been in college in Reykjavik but came home for my father's birthday."
"Ouch. You speak English really well," I said, curious about that fact.
Ulfur smiled. "There is not much to do with our time but watch and listen to people. A company runs tours from here to local fjords, so we get lots of tourists. It provides us all with an excellent means of learning other languages. English was the first we learned, and now that the Japanese tours have started, we're hoping to learn that language next."
"I suppose it would provide for entertainment." I thought for a moment. "Maybe you'd all better stay here until I can figure out how to get you to heaven. Er... Ostri. Whichever."
"I don't know that we're safe staying here," he said, his face becoming serious. "An Ilargi has been seen."
"One of those bad-reaper, soul-eater guys?" A little shiver zipped down my back. "They don't sound good at all. Well, I guess you'll all have to come with me."
He nodded and bellowed out orders to the folks below.
I looked out at the sea, bluey grey and wind tossed, and wondered what on earth I was going to do now. "Could my life get any stranger?"
The sound of the wind and the mournful cry of gulls wheeling overhead were the only answer to my question. I took one last look at the sea, then gestured to the waiting ghosts below and pointed to the village. A faint hurrahing cry met my ears as I jammed my hands in my pockets and started down the path into the village, Ulfur and his horse on my heels.