Ghoul of My Dreams (Larue Donavan Series Book 4) (16 page)

He wasn’t budging though and remained tight-lipped.

Stone waved off Roger’s silence. “Never mind that. Just meet me later, okay?”

I exchanged a look with Mindy. I expected her to tell me not to go or to tell me this was all too strange. However, by the expression in her eyes, she was telling me to go for it.

“Where should I meet you?” I asked.

Stone stood from the table. “Meet me at the park at ten. I have to go now.”

He walked away and out the door.

“I wonder why he wants to meet you?” Marilyn asked.

I’d find out soon enough.

Mindy rubbed her arms as if fighting off goose bumps. “This is kind of scary… knowing this evil spirit is around and you have to go to a house with a portal.”

Yes, it was scary, but now that I knew this portal was there, I had to help the homeowner. It would only be a matter of time until another spirit popped through. Elisa would be dealing with a haunting all over again. I only hoped I could get rid of the spirits and the portal. I needed to force Stone to tell me how he knew of this gateway to the other side. What had occurred when he lived there? That had to be the reason they had moved. He could have told me about the portal the first time he saw the dark shadow at Callahan’s.

“I don’t think I want to go back into that house, Larue.” Roger paced around the table.

“I have a bone to pick with you,” I said.

He held his hands up. “What did I do?”

“You didn’t tell me about the portal. You didn’t tell me there were other ghosts in the house.”

“What did it matter? I just wanted out of there,” he said.

“It matters because I needed to help the homeowner,” I said.

He tossed his hands up. “You’re psychic, I figured you’d know.”

Chapter 18

After we left the restaurant, Mindy went straight home. She asked if I wanted her to go with me to meet Stone, but just in case things got crazy with the whole portal thing, I told her it wasn’t necessary. I had no idea what I would do until I met him, though. There really wasn’t enough time to go all the way home, so I figured I’d just hang out at the bookstore. Mindy had dropped me off and I was browsing in the windows along Main Street while walking toward Book Nook. Callahan had called and wanted to go out, but of course, I had to tell him I had plans.

When my cell rang, I figured it was him calling back. I saw the number displayed and realized it wasn’t him. I’d seen the number before, but couldn’t place who it was.

“Larue Donavan,” I said when I answered.

“Larue, this is Bonnie.”

I knew by the tone of her voice that something was wrong.

“Has the activity increased?” I asked.

“It’s about the same, but I found something I thought I should tell you about.”

I stopped in front of the antique store window. “Oh, what’s that?”

“I found a Ouija board in my daughter’s room.”

This wasn’t good. I was getting a better picture of why the dark shadows were in the house.

“Do you think she’s been using it for a long time?” I asked.

Bonnie sighed and then said, “I don’t know. She’s always been a good kid, but now I don’t know what’s she’s doing.”

“Lots of kids play with the boards, but it can turn bad quickly.”

“Do you think you can still help us?” she asked.

“I will do everything I can to help you.”

“You don’t know how much this means to me.”

My voice had sounded confident, but I was anything but confident. I hoped I could help. I wasn’t sure what I was dealing with. Maybe it would be too much for me to handle.

“I need to talk with her,” I said.

“I haven’t seen her since this afternoon. I’m beginning to worry.”

“Have you called her friends?” I asked.

“Yes, but they haven’t seen her either.”

I wasn’t sure what to do. Should Bonnie call the police? I didn’t want her to freak out.

“I’m sure she is fine and will be home soon. Can you call me when she does return so I can ask her a few questions?”

Bonnie sighed again. I knew she was full of worry.

“Yes, I’ll call you. Thanks again, Larue.”

“You’re welcome,” I said. “Oh, wait a minute. I just saw your daughter.”

“Where are you?” Bonnie asked.

“I’m downtown by my store. I’ll go after her and call you back,” I said and then hung up my phone.

“We can’t let her get away this time,” Marilyn said.

I practically ran down the sidewalk after Bethany. “I don’t intend to.”

I called out, but if Bethany heard me, she didn’t turn around.

“Teenagers,” Roger said as he hurried along beside me.

She wasn’t running, but she was walking a lot faster than I could. It was hard to keep up with my short strides.

“You have to speed up,” Roger said.

“She can’t walk any faster,” James reminded him.

“Thank you,” I said.

I was getting strange looks as I rushed down the sidewalk.

“Where do you think she’s going?” Marilyn asked.

“I don’t know, but she isn’t slowing down.”

She was moving away from the busier section of town; away from the shops.

“I bet she’s going to the park. That place was always spooky,” Roger said.

“If she is maybe I can finally catch her,” I said as I panted for breath.

I had to hurry or I’d miss her. Once she got into the park she could go in any direction and I’d lose her. As much as I hated it, I had to run. Anything more than a brisk walk and I looked like I was doing a bad impression of the way a wounded spider would walk. However, it was the only way I would catch her. After the class with Mindy, I was in no shape to exert that much energy, but I had to do it anyway. I forced my legs to move faster. They protested in pain, but I managed to push through. Even though I was getting close, Bethany still hadn’t turned around to see me.

“Do you think she senses you’re here?” Marilyn asked.

“I guess not,” I answered breathlessly.

I held my side to ease the cramp. I probably looked like the walking dead as I scuttled down the sidewalk.

Finally, I was within reach. I grabbed her shoulder. She spun around with her eyes wide and mouth open, as if she’d just encountered the grim reaper.

“She almost peed her pants,” Roger said.

At least I’d finally been able to stop her.

“I didn’t mean to scare you,” I said still trying to catch my breath.

Bethany seemed as if she was scared of just about everything right now. Her hands shook and her legs trembled. She darted her eyes. “They are following me.”

I didn’t even need to ask who
they
were. I knew who
they
were.

“I need to ask you about the Ouija board,” I said.

Her eyes widened. “How did you know?”

I wasn’t sure I should tell Bethany that her mother had been in her room, so I said, “I just know these things.”

That made me seem a lot smarter than I really was. She would probably find out the truth sooner or later though.

She hugged her bag closer to her body as if that would offer protection. “I used the thing. It was just fun at first, but then things turned bad when the dark shadows showed up.”

“How long have they been around?” I asked.

She tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. “For a couple weeks now. They just came a little at first, but now they are following me all the time.”

I glanced around. “I don’t see them now.”

“You can see them?” she asked.

I nodded. “Most of the time. I have one following me, too. Have they tried to attack you?”

Her mouth dropped a little. “Not yet. You mean they can really attack?”

I sighed. “I’m afraid so.”

James paced around Bethany. “She really shouldn’t have used that board.”

Roger glared at James. “She’s just a kid. Leave her alone.”

Bethany picked at the hem of her shirt. “I was only doing the witchcraft for good spells. When the dark spirits came, I tried to use it to get rid of them.”

“So, that was why you wanted the other books?” I asked.

“So far, it hasn’t worked, of course. Do you think you can help me?” Dark circles lined under her eyes.

“I’m going to try my best,” I said.

She attempted a smile. “That would be so great. Thank you.”

I hoped I really could help her. If I couldn’t what would she do? What would I do?

I needed to know something. “I have a question for you.”

She nodded. “I’ll try to answer the best I can.”

“Who were you trying to contact with the Ouija board?” I asked.

She shrugged. “No one in particular really, I was just calling out to any spirits who might be in the house. I thought it would be fun.”

“That’s never a good idea,” I said. “There are always bad spirits waiting for someone to call on them and as soon as they find a person who might be vulnerable at the time, they’ll slip right through.”

“So, I really screwed up.”

“Don’t be so hard on yourself.” I patted her shoulder.

“Yeah, but I put my mom through a lot and she’ll never let me live it down.”

“They never do.” Roger shook his head. “They never do.”

Oh, he was so dramatic.

“I’m sure she doesn't feel that way,” I said. “We will be able to work it out somehow. I don’t know what will do, but I’ll figure out something.”

She sighed. “I hope you’re right.”

“First, we will have to find out about the spirits.”

“How will we do that?” she asked.

“I may actually have to use the board. It’ll be able to let me communicate with the demon since that’s obviously how it came through.”

Her eyes widened.

“I don’t recommend it at all and I try to avoid it. But now that I know that’s how you got that spirit here to begin with, then that’s how we’ll communicate with them from now on.”

She glanced over her shoulder. “When do we do this?”

I checked the time on my phone. It was almost time to meet Stone. “I have another appointment right now. Would you like to come to the park with me? I’m meeting someone who might have information about the shadow who’s following me.”

“Yeah, sure I don’t have anything else to do.” She shifted the bag on her shoulder.

“Well, one thing we have to do is call your mom and let her know you’re okay.”

She waved her hands. The bracelets on her wrists jingled with the movement. “I don't want to face her after what I’ve done.”

“Your mom loves you and she’s worried about you, so you really need to pick up the phone and give her a call.”

I handed her my phone and she dialed her mom’s number. She stepped away for a second so they could talk.

“Wow, this is pretty heavy stuff.” Roger shoved his hands in his pockets.

“I hope this all works out with Stone. I’m so worried.” Marilyn twisted her hands together.

“Larue will figure it out,” James said. “She has a little help that she probably doesn’t even know about.”

I eyed James, but he avoided my stare. What was he talking about?

After a couple minutes, Bethany stepped back over and handed me the phone.

“Everything okay?” I asked.

She blew out a deep breath. “Yeah, everything’s going to be all right. At least, I hope so.”

I motioned for her to follow me. “Come on. Let’s go.”

We walked the short distance to the park. It was a gated entrance with a walkway leading to a big bubbling fountain in the middle. Around the park where benches, so we walked over to the nearest one. I wondered what Stone would be able to do? Night had settled all around us, so the shadows would be a lot harder to see lurking in the dark. At least we had a bit of light from the full moon casting a white glow all over the park.

“All we can do right now is to sit and wait,” I said.

She shifted next to me on the bench. I knew she was nervous about seeing the shadows again.

“Don’t worry, I won’t let them get you.” My voice sounded a lot more confident than I felt.

“I can keep watch,” Marilyn offered.

“You look on that side and I’ll look on the other side.” Roger gestured to Marilyn.

I smiled to myself knowing the ghosts were keeping an eye on me and had my back.

“So, you do the witchcraft?” Bethany asked as we sat on the bench.

I waved my hand dismissively. “I do a little bit, but not a lot. I have to worry most about the paranormal investigating. It takes up most of my time.”

“I think I saw something.” Marilyn’s voice rose.

“Where is it?” Roger asked.

Marilyn pointed and I looked out across the park, past the bubbling fountain. That was when I saw the shadows, too. They moved closer and Bethany scooted next to me on the bench. She had seen them at that point, as well. The shadows floated just above the ground. Their silhouettes highlighted by the moonlight and distant street lights.

“What do we do now?” she asked with a trembling voice.

I patted her hand. “Try to stay calm. We don’t want them to know we’re scared of them.”

“But, I
am
scared of them,” she whispered.

I kept my eyes on the shadows. “We can’t let them know that. They feed off of fear. That’s why they have gotten stronger.”

Bethany held my arm. “I don’t know what to do so that they don’t sense my fear.”

“Take a deep breath,” I said.

We shouldn’t have watched the spirits, but at the same time, I wanted to know what they were doing. If they moved closer, I wanted to know about it. Relying on Roger or Marilyn to tell me wasn’t good enough. I had told Bethany not to be scared, but deep down I was frightened, too. There was no way to encounter something like this and not be at least slightly scared.

Bethany and I sat on the bench motionless, well, except for the slight twitching of her legs. The spirits had moved closer, but suddenly they had started to fade away as if the energy they needed to appear was being depleted. Why they had decided to leave I wasn’t sure, but I wasn’t about to question it. I was glad they were going.

“I think they’re leaving,” she whispered.

“I think you’re right,” I said.

We spoke in hushed tones, as if the spirits heard us then they would return, so we had to be quiet.

“They’re gone,” Marilyn said.

“Yeah, but for how long?” Roger asked.

He was right, I knew they wouldn’t stay away for long. The more energy they got, the more they would be able to come back. If they had enough, then they would stay for good. I didn’t know what would happen if they stayed around permanently. I checked the time again, hoping Stone would appear soon. What if he didn’t show up? What would we do then?