Dust to Dust (28 page)

I glance around, too, scoping out the area carefully. It's almost
dark and the beach is empty, so no one will see what we're up to. There's also a buffer of trees all around us so that if someone pulls into the parking lot we'll have advance warning.

“There,” says Carson, pointing to the floating dock out on the water. “That's the perfect spot.”

“Really?” I ask her. It's only about twenty feet out, not far at all, but still . . . I pictured a simple circle on the beach.

“Please don't question the master of incantations,” Dylan says, winking at her.

“Thanks, Dyl. Anyway, the incantation mentions water, so I think we'll have more power out there on the dock,” she says.

“Who's calling those kayaks gas burners now?” asks Nick with a grin. I suddenly see that he has the two boats all set up to go.

Carson rolls her eyes and reaches into her large bag to bring out a candle in a tall glass votive holder. “Well, I've got to see the book to read the incantation, don't I?” she says, when I let out a soft giggle. “I took it from Dixon's.”

Eli shoves his hands into his pockets and turns to Dylan. “Walk me through this again?”

But Carson steps in, like the good host she is, and plays Martha Stewart to our poltergeist-expulsion party. Seems like she's doing what I asked her to—letting go of her suspicions that something is bothering me.

I let out a small sigh, hoping that what I said was true. That in a minute I'll be fine, I'll be centered and ready.

“We're going to do an incantation that is meant to call these two poltergeists—Reena and Leo—to us,” she says. “Once they're
here, the incantation will draw out their energy—hopefully all of it—and force them to move on from the Prism to merge into another dimension and leave the Earth, and the Prism, alone for good.”

Eli pales a little.

“‘There is a real magic in enthusiasm. It spells the difference between mediocrity and accomplishment.' Norman Vincent Peale,” Dylan says out of the blue.

“Is that supposed to make me get excited?” asks Eli.

“Don't worry,” says Dylan. “The whole thing sounds a lot weirder than it is.”

“I'm not so sure about that,” Nick whispers under his breath, and I give his arm a squeeze.

“Okay, y'all!” says Carson. “Let's go.”

The two kayaks from the van are already halfway in the water, but they're both two-seaters.

“Who's riding three?”

I see an opportunity here, a chance to thank Carson for not pressing me too hard. “Eli, you get in the back of that one. Dylan, you sit up front, and Carson can be on your lap.”

Dylan's face reddens instantly. “Y'all are the littlest,” I explain.

“Why don't you and Carson sit up front together and then Dylan and I can take this one?” asks Nick, totally not getting my goal here. I kick him in the shin.

“Because I want to kayak with you, Nick,” I say, sitting in kayak number two so there can be no argument.

We push off and I watch Carson navigate Dylan's lap as he blushes and adjusts his arms to rest around her. I can tell they're
both into it, and it warms me up a little on this shadowy, still night. I need that reassurance that two people can be a perfect fit for each other—and not have any secrets between them.

It takes about a minute to paddle to the dock, where we tie up and sit in a circle on the wooden planks. I place Reena's shoestring and Leo's cuff link in the center, willing myself not to hear Wendy's voice echoing in my ear, but it doesn't work. The sound of chirping crickets can't even drown her out.

Thatcher waited for a wave to take me, and when I ducked under, he held me down.

My brother blamed me, almost enough to want me dead.

Carson snaps her fingers in front of my face when she notices I'm in a bit of a trance. “You concentrating, Cal?”

I clear my throat, hoping it will also clear my mind. “Yeah, I'm good.”

“Do we hold hands?” asks Nick.

“No,” says Dylan. “Once Carson starts saying the words, the energy will flow between us without us having to touch.”

He opens up the book, placing it in front of Carson. Her voice kicks into serious mode, and she begins to say the words we hope will stop the poltergeists, as the rest of us close our eyes.

The first time she says the incantation, nothing feels different. It's like we're kids at a basement slumber party, playing “Light as a feather, stiff as a board” and wishing something would happen without any real results. But my thoughts are here, with my friends, free of distractions and feelings that might threaten this whole process.

Then Carson repeats the words. . . .

This time, I can feel energy starting to swim around us, like we're under water, surrounded by an element that's thicker than air, heavy and pressing. I hear a cackle from behind me, so I peek a little and see streaks of light hovering between me, Dylan, Nick, Eli, and Carson. When I open my own eyes fully, the others do, too—it feels like all of our senses are connected right now. The light looks pretty at first, like the twinkling of tiny stars dancing above us. But the sound of laughter grows louder, and the stars
begin to flicker—light to dark, dark to light.

When I turn my head to the right, I can see them.

Reena and Leo.

They're hovering on top of the river, clear as day—at least to me. Their mouths are curved into ghoulish shapes as they sneer and continue to laugh.

“Can you believe this?” Leo says to Reena. “They're trying a spell on us!”

“It's pathetic, isn't it?” she replies, but when she locks eyes with me, Reena realizes this isn't a joke. All of us mean business and we won't stop until they're gone.

“Carson, part two!” shouts Dylan, and Carson switches gears, moving on to the second step, which is ridding the poltergeists of everything that gives them power.

“It's not working,” says Dylan abruptly, his voice sounding shaky and uncertain for the first time.

“It is,” I tell him. “They're here. I can see them over the water.”

“I can sense their presence, too,” he says, closing his eyes for a
moment. “But we're not in control . . . they're not losing energy. In fact, they feel—”

“Stronger than ever?” says Leo, filling in the rest of Dylan's sentence and booming over Carson's second chant of the incantation.

Carson's head whips toward Leo. “I see them now, too,” she says, her eyes glowing with anticipation. Once Reena notices Carson's attention, she tilts her head affectionately at my best friend, which makes my stomach tie into knots.

I look around at the rest of our circle—Dylan, Nick, Eli. Dylan is concentrating hard, still focusing his attention on the spell, and trying to get Carson to return to her chant. Nick looks thoroughly confused.

“What's happening?” whispers Nick. He can't see them yet, and Dylan can't either. But I don't have time to fill him in.

I glance over at Eli. His face is frozen in fear—he's looking directly at Leo.

“Can you
see
him?” I ask Eli.

“Uh, yeah. Dude's standing right there on the water and he's not exactly small.”

“Callie,” says Dylan. “What's happening? I can't see anything.”

“I thought you were smarter than this, Callie. Letting that idiot lead you out here, convincing you that this might make us go away,” says Reena.

“Hey!” shouts Carson. “He's not an idiot!”

Leo growls at her, and I see Carson's skin go completely white, like she's just now realized what deep trouble we're in. I nudge her with my foot and mouth the words “the ring” to her, reassuring her
that we can get backup here at any time. Carson nods, her shoulders loosening.

“You seem a little frightened, Carson,” says Reena, smiling with all of her teeth. “That's disappointing. I expected that you'd be energized by your glimpse of us, of the other side.”

Carson shrinks back a little bit, and I move toward her protectively.

“Callie, who is that?” Eli's still staring at Leo, who's giving him a menacing grin.

I feel a panic grip me. If Leo takes Eli now, it'll be the third possession. The one that will destroy Eli's soul and allow Leo to keep his body . . . forever.

I have to think fast. “Eli, that's Leo!” I say fake-cheerfully. “What would a party be without Leo?”

“What are you doing?” whispers Nick.

But I don't answer him. I'm too busy trying to stall so I can try to figure out why the second part of the incantation is failing, and deciding whether or not to call Thatcher. Suddenly it feels like they called us here instead of the other way around and I'm worried that we're in way over our heads.

Especially now that Reena is staring at Carson like a starving lion eyeing an antelope.

“Aren't you wondering why you and Eli can see us and hear us right now?” she asks Carson patiently, like an adult patronizing a little kid.

“I've always been perceptive,” says Carson, her voice even despite her saucer-sized eyes.

“Too true,” says Reena. “But the reason you can both see and hear me now, in this instant, is because you're both ready for the final possession.”

Then Reena glares at me. “Say good-bye to Carson, Callie. You'll be seeing me from now on.”

I grab hold of Thatcher's ring and stand up, breaking the energy of the circle. Every fiber of my being vibrates with the bellowing call I make, the wind shifting around me like a storm.

“
Thaaaatcheeeer!
” I scream, so hard my vocal cords are nearly shredded.

And then I hear something that sounds like streams of air being sucked out of the sky.

“Stop!” Thatcher's voice echoes from the woods and I see him emerge on the beach, clear as day. His muscular arms are taut and ready—I can see he's poised to spring out into the water, ready to battle, and it pushes away the seeds of doubt that Wendy planted within me earlier.

How could this selfless person ever a hurt a soul?

“Oh my gosh!” says Carson, turning to see him. “Thatcher.” She glances back at me. “Callie, is this . . . him?”

Reena's laugh carries across the sand. “Aw, the gang's all back together,” she says with a fake-friendly lilt. Then she fixes her attention on Nick. “Better tell your living boyfriend to be careful, Callie. We know how Thatcher gets . . . overcome by emotions.”

“Reena, enough. Leo may be able to own Eli tonight, but you'll be left without a body—taking Carson a second time will just weaken you even more,” says Thatcher over the water. I have to
admit, I was expecting him to attack her and Leo right away, but of course he wants to try and talk them out of this first—that's his way. “Then you'll have to return to the Prism, and we will never let you come back here.”

He gestures behind him and I see the other Guides, their figures glowing on the beach with him. I feel a wave of relief wash over me, but as quickly as it comes, it goes with the sound of Reena's voice.

“Oh, Thatcher,” she says, acting sickly sweet. “I think you missed possession number two.”

My heart speeds up, regret charging through me. “What do you mean?”

Reena spins toward me. “While you and your true love were canoodling out in the water on Sunday, I took the opportunity to use Carson the way he was using Nick.”

I feel like I've been punched. The energy pull . . . the one I thought was happening because Thatcher was using my energy to possess Nick. It was Reena taking Carson's body, back on the beach. I think about Carson mentioning how tired she was feeling from her day in the sun. Why didn't I make the connection then? Why didn't I see the signs?

Maybe because the only person I was thinking of in that moment was Thatcher.

I don't think the consequences of our relationship have ever been greater.

Before I can explain or say anything to Carson, she's standing up to face Reena in her take-no-bull way, despite the fear I know
she feels. She sways a little on the dock but stays steady on her feet. “You're so full of crap, Reena. Everyone here knows you're bluffing. Callie told us what Thatcher knows. That you're almost out of energy.”

“Oh, Carson,” purrs Reena, stepping from the water to the dock now. “I admire your fire. So very much . . . too bad you're dead wrong.”

Reena reaches out a hand to touch one of Carson's glossy brown curls, and I hear Thatcher shout, “Nooooo!”

I lunge toward Reena, but the moment I move, a piercing pain hits me, like someone has driven a pair of scissors through my skull. A blazing flash of light blinds me and I roll off the dock, my head in my hands. The sting is excruciating, and I must black out for a minute, because when I come to again, water is filling my lungs and I'm sinking down to the bottom of the river.

Suddenly, I feel someone reach under my arms and pull me up to the surface, where I spit up liquid and choke down air. Nick has me—he's dragging me to the beach.