A Whispered Darkness (34 page)

Before I could speak, Haven stood. But he froze when Bryan appeared on our right. His hands were clenched into fists, the white knuckles glowing in the dark. “Leave him alone.”

I expected Mom to laugh. She didn’t. Instead, she rose, then took a tiny step back. Her shadowy features watched him closely. For the first time, I wondered what Bryan knew the rest of us could not. He’d been plagued by the spirits here for years. They’d learned the way in and out of his head after their contact with him so many years ago. Their influence had been light, but steady.

What did the thing inside my mother fear he knew?

I couldn’t ask, because Gabriel, Cain, and Laura burst back into the room. Deon and Julia followed close behind. They’d been in the kitchen doing some base readings. All of them panted, their faces pale in the dim room.

“What the hell happened?” George demanded.

Cain shook his head, gulping for air like a drowning man. “We got locked in.”

Laura slid down the wall near the door, her face in her hands. “This place is insane. In every sense of the word.”

“We’ve established that,” George said, rising. “But the cameras in there keep fuzzing in and out. Did the portables catch anything?”

Gabriel dropped to the sofa. “Who the hell cares?”

Haven surprised me, moving away to take Gabriel’s camera from him. He messed with the screen and buttons, then sighed. “They got some of it, but it isn’t clear exactly what happened.”

“Again, why does it matter?” The irritation had leaked out of his words. Now he sounded only curious.

“Because if we can see what’s going on, we can keep it from happening again.”

“Here? Or somewhere else?”

Haven shrugged. Gabriel didn’t pursue it.

“We’ve managed to get through the downstairs.” Julia said. “Thank God Deon and I had the extra keys. Before anyone does anything else, we need you to check and see if we’ve missed anything down here.”

All eyes turned to me. The clock on the second floor struck in the silence, the sound bouncing around. Mocking me, it seemed, with those deep peals. Eleven o’clock. If we hadn’t done what we needed, there was little chance we’d be able to finish.

“Why do we have to do all this? Why not just try and call them up individually?” Deon asked. “I’ve been involved in a few of those. They work, though they take some time.”

Haven shook his head. “There’s too many.”

“They’re connected,” I said.

“What?” Grant asked.

Even Haven turned and looked at me.

“They’re all kept here by Horace and
her.
All the spirits have to be in one place, or we’ll be totally ineffective. They can’t leave unless she releases them.”

“But it doesn’t make any sense. No one spirit can have so much power.” Deon clenched and unclenched his hands.

Gabriel groaned and stood. “Yes, it does. She’s right.”

Cain sighed, rubbing a finger over the bridge of his nose. “Technically, when we go through the rooms we’re exorcizing them. But they aren’t leaving. They’re just heading into rooms we haven’t gone to yet. We’re herding them, because they can’t escape.”

“Well, hell.”

“You can say that again,” Grant told him.

Cain moved behind the computer bank with George. “Take a breather. If anyone needs something from the kitchen, take a friend or two. We’ll start upstairs in about ten minutes. Julia and Laura need to restock their batteries.”

Deon snagged Grant’s shirt. “Come on, man. You and Haven can come with me. We’re headed for snacks, drinks, and the bathroom. Not necessarily in that order.”

“I’ll come along.” Gabriel grunted, dropping his equipment, except for the worn leather book, and followed them.

Haven started and I caught at his hand. “Are you sure this is a good idea?”

He looked from me to Deon and back. “Yeah. It’ll be fine.”

Suspicion gnawed at me. “You guys aren’t planning to go macho on us, are you?”

“Of course not. You come as far as the hall and check to see how we’re doing. Then we’ll go on to the kitchen. It should be fine if we’ve managed to clear this floor, right?”

Hesitant, I nodded. “I think so. Though I don’t know how it will be for you. Your gift isn’t tied to the ghosts.”

Haven shrugged. “No time like the present to find out, right?”

He was being too casual. I followed them out in the hall, leaning against the wall. I didn’t wait for anyone to ask me, I just closed my eyes and cracked open the mental doors around my head.

I flinched. Above me, I could see the spirits, restless points of dark light, pushing against the barriers we’d set up. The silence around me was almost as oppressive as the ghosts’ energy. While I couldn’t hear them clearly, I could feel them pounding to get in like a physical reaction. As if I traveled at high elevations without being able to pop my ears.

I closed myself off and threaded my fingers through my hair. “They’re out of here for now, but they don’t like it. We don’t have forever. If they push hard enough for long enough, they’ll undo everything.”

Deon glanced upward, his body relaxing a bit. “All right then. Tell Cain what you found. We’ll be back in a few minutes.”

***

By the time they returned, Cain had already decided I would remain downstairs until they got to the third floor. He expressed concern over Haven when I asked him to come with us to the last floor. He’d agreed, but with a condition. He wanted Haven with him when they moved through the third floor.

I related all this to Haven when he returned with the others. I expected him to argue. Instead, he nodded once and accepted a camcorder from George.

Grant rose. “I’m going too.”

“Grant—”

He shook his head, his mouth in a tight line. Fear glittered in his eyes, but so did determination. “I’m not going to sit here like a baby all night, Claire. Bryan has plenty of watchers. He’s not going anywhere. I have to do this, or I’ll feel like a coward.”

I looked at Haven, holding out my hands. “Talk to him.”

Giving me an apologetic grin, he lifted one shoulder. “If he says he needs to do this, he needs to. He’ll be all right. We’ll make sure.”

Anger sparked in my gut. “You three better make sure he does, or I’ll make those ghosts the least of your problems. And you,” I turned to my brother, poking at his chest with one finger. “Don’t be stupid.”

“Chill, Sis. You’re panic is showing.” When I would have argued more, he interrupted me. “No. You aren’t going to let anyone else go to the fourth floor are you?”

“It’s not the same.”

“Sure it is. You’re only taking someone because we insist. So you’re going to be quiet and let me go. After all, you’re not my mother.”

Crossing my arms, I glared at him. They left then, without anything else to be said. Julia came over, offering a small smile.

“They’ll be all right. We sent more of them than before, besides”—her smile faded, and her voice grew softer—“I think everyone can tell they’re waiting for you.”

I blinked.

“I’m a little psychic. Not much. Normally, I can’t feel much of anything. But tonight…” She leaned against the edge of the couch. “Things are different.”

“They want us, but they need you more.” Bryan sat near us, staring off into space, his fingers worrying at the edge of his shirt. I don’t even think he knew he spoke to us.

“Excuse me, my dear jailers, but I’m afraid I’m in need of the facilities.” Mom stood near us, a strange twist to her lips. “I’m sure you’re going to require an escort.”

Deon scooted away from his place changing batteries. “Come on, Julia. We’ll stop by the kitchen. I want to take those base readings one more time, since we were interrupted before. We’ll take her and get her on the way back.”

They left, and I retreated to the other side of the room, mulling over things in my head. It wasn’t until much later anyone noticed anything strange. Nearly a half hour later, Haven came back in with a haggard looking Gabriel and flopped onto the couch.

Grant sagged against the doorframe, then frowned. “Where did Mom go?”

I started. “What?”

“She was here when I left. Where did she go?”

I blinked. “Deon and Julia took her to the bathroom on their way to redo the baseline readings.”

My heart sped up. Deon and Julia looked at each other and stood. “Crap. We thought she’d come back before us.”

Her rocking chair was empty. She hadn’t returned. Guilt flooded me. “Shit. I didn’t even notice.”

We grabbed flashlights and headed out, calling her name. After five minutes that seemed like hours, a shout from upstairs had us running. I flew around the third floor landing, toward the tower room. Someone inside groaned.

We ran in, finding Haven and Cain creeping up the metal spiral steps. The whole structure swayed under their weight. Beneath, Gabriel and Grant watched, both unloading what they carried into a small pile. Mom was draped across three or four of the stairs near the top, illuminated in Grant’s quivering flashlight beam. Blood dripped down her forehead.

***

“Oh God.” I whispered, moving slowly inside. As if my movements could disturb the scene in front of me. I stopped next to Grant and Gabriel. “How did you find her?”

“Haven.” Gabriel told me. His entire body looked tense, as if he were ready to catch anyone who might fall. “We barely finished the blessing on the third floor, and he was running down the stairs, calling to us about the tower.”

“She’s breathing!” Cain called down.

The stairs moved again, the metal releasing a haunting moan. I closed my eyes, opening myself. Despite our efforts, the barriers we’d placed were weakening. I could see faint traces of ghostly influence working on the metal. They wanted it to fail.

“Hurry up, Haven.” I breathed the words, more to myself than to anyone else.

Still, I saw his head come up and his eyes found mine in the shadowy light. He nodded once. He knew what was going on.

Finally, he climbed around to lift her head, while Cain got her feet. Between the two of them, they got her downstairs and laid her on the floor. Julia rushed over, her hands moved over Mom’s limbs and pulse points with quick efficiency.

She flashed a smile at me. “I’m an EMT in my free time. Comes in handy when we’re doing this kind of stuff.”

I used my shirt to wipe away some of the blood from Mom’s face. Her eyelids fluttered, and she looked up for a moment. “Claire? What’s happening? I don’t feel well at all.”

Tears sprung to my eyes. As I sat there, I looked closer, really looked, and saw only her spirit flickered before me. Confused, small, but growing stronger. Horace had left her. Whether because of the blessing or because they were regrouping, I didn’t know.

Despite everything, a thrill moved through me and I smiled at her. “Don’t worry, Mom. We’ll get you all fixed up.”

Tears burned my eyes. I could admit now I’d nearly convinced myself the final exorcism might damage her permanently. Or worse. Knowing she would be all right was a huge relief.

“I’m so tired. What is wrong with me?” Her words were slurred.

“You’re fine.” I looked up at Julia. “Just go to sleep.”

“She could have a concussion, though I don’t think so.”

Mom’s eyelids fluttered closed. Her hand patted my knee awkwardly. “Good girl.”

I sniffed, watching as Mom’s breathing fell into an easy, restful pattern.

“Look at this.” Julia pushed Mom’s hair to the side, revealing a red line, broken in places into thin cuts, disappearing around the back of her neck.

She had ripped off the locket.

“Whatever you do tonight,” I said. “Don’t put on any jewelry, okay?”

The others nodded. Julia snorted. “Anything this house gives you, I’d say no to.”

“Can we move her?” Cain asked.

Julia nodded and Deon picked her up.

“I think she’s stunned and weak from the possession. But we should probably take her to the ER and get her checked out.”

“Would you two take her? If Cain doesn’t mind?” I asked.

They exchanged a look, and Deon started toward the door. “No offense, Claire, but this is one case I’ll be fine if I don’t see the end of. No matter which way it turns out, I’ll have nightmares.”

Grant scrubbed at his eyes and tried to cover a sniffle. I reached over and hugged him. “It’s going to be all right.”

He nodded against my shoulder and pulled away. We all rose, following Deon and Julia downstairs. Haven fell into step beside me, and I paused at the top of the stairs to press a kiss to his cheek.

“Thank you.”

“For what?”

“If you hadn’t gotten there, they’d have caused the whole thing to collapse. If you hadn’t succeeded up on the third floor, they’d have managed it. So thank you.”

He pulled me under his arm. “I’d tell you I’d be glad to do it anytime, but the truth is, I’d like this night to never be repeated again.”

“You and me both.”

Even though the house felt lighter now that we’d managed to cleanse everything to the third floor, it wasn’t finished yet. I glanced upward, sensing the energy we’d shoved aside like a dense black cloud writhing in the rafters. We didn’t have much time before it crashed down and crushed us beneath the weight of its hate.

Mom and Bryan were loaded into one of the vans with Julie and Deon. Everyone was concerned at Bryan’s lack of touch with reality, and while Mom seemed to be all right, it was better to get her clear before she could wake up and argue.

Instead, George and Grant sat with the equipment, while Laura argued with Cain on the other side of the room.

Haven threaded his fingers with mine. “Are you sure you’re ready for this?”

I shook my head. “Doesn’t matter. Its eleven forty five. We’ve got fifteen minutes for someone to make the last move. I’d rather it be me.”

He blew out an exasperated breath. “I’d feel better if this were over already.”

“You and everyone else.”

Cain came closer, Laura following behind. Judging by the scowl on her face, she wasn’t done arguing.

“Why does it have to be on Halloween?” he asked.

“It’s because of the thinness of the barrier and the strength they have in this house. It makes it equal territory. Otherwise I wouldn’t be able to make her go anywhere she didn’t want.”