Haven of Nightmares (Littlemoon Investigations Book 5) (30 page)

Chapter Seventeen

He found the man.

He was sitting in his happy home and enjoying himself. Well, that wouldn’t do.

Like she asked, it was time to make her happy.

After a brief struggle, he hit the man on the head, knocking him out. He was the one, and he couldn’t let him get away.

He wouldn’t have time to waste, and this whole killing would take daring, strength, and will to overcome.

This sacrifice’s wife would soon be home, and she couldn’t find him there. She didn’t tell him to kill two. She only wanted this one’s blood. Like the others, he was handpicked by her.

Dragging him out the back door, he hefted him into the trunk. There he taped is hands, feet, and mouth.

He was going to get him to the school grounds, wait until no one was looking, and then end his life.

It was worth it.

He needed to scare them like she said. It would be the only way to get them to leave. As soon as they did, he was going to move their bodies.

There were only three left, and it wouldn’t take long for the investigators, or police, to find them. The ground was still torn apart, the grass had not yet begun re-growing, and all it would take was one of them wandering the campus.

Yes, this man had to die.

It was logical.

So, as he drove him to the campus, he worked out his plan. This would buy him time.

It had to work.

She was smart.

She was his gift.

She was right.

       
         
* * *
  L   i   t   t   l  e  m  o  o  n  * * *

Nyx could hear Beau calling her name. She could feel herself being held against his strong chest. The scent of his cologne was familiar and cathartic.

When she opened her eyes, his smoky blue ones were focused on her. She could see the worry and fear in them.

“Baby, are you okay?” he asked, resting his palm on her chilly cheek. “You scared the shit out of me. Let’s not do that again.”

“Yeah, let’s not. We were all scared,” Julian stated.

“What happened?” she asked, struggling to sit up, but Beau wouldn’t let her.

They stared at her as if she was crazy.

She didn’t remember any of it.

As she looked around, the room was wrecked. “Did I do all of this?” she asked.

“It’s okay,” Roman said, kneeling not far from her. “The important thing is, are you okay?”

She touched her head, and it was throbbing.

Then she realized something.

“I can’t hear anything.”

They all looked around.

“You’re talking to us, so you have to hear something,” Tori stated.

Her eyes filled with tears. “I can’t hear Trey, and Bethany is gone too. Are they still here?”

Tori called for her brother and the radio jumped to life.

“I. Am. Here.”

Nyx began crying. “My gift. It’s gone! Oh God! That channeling burned it out!”

Beau rocked her in his arms. “Shhhhhh, it’s okay.” In a way, he was glad it was gone. Now she wouldn’t hurt. He hated that she suffered when she used it, but now it looked like she was suffering from not having it too.

She held onto him, trying to stay calm, but it wasn’t easy. “It’s who I am. I can’t be a psychic without my gift. It helped me find you, and now it’s gone.” She began crying in his arms.

Beau did his best to comfort her. “It’s okay, baby. You still have me. Maybe that was the point.”

Tori touched her hand. “Don’t panic. Maybe you’re just burned out for a while. That was a lot of ghosts. I know once I go above three, I become a little overloaded.”

“There were so many,” she whispered. “They wanted Betty, and they took her away.”

Tori was aware.

She had watched it happen.

Nyx now began sobbing.

Julian glanced at his watch. “Get her out of here, Beau. Take a car, move Nyx to a hotel for the night, and if she’s not better by morning, take her home.”

She stared over at him. “Because I’m of no use?” she asked, the hurt in her voice.

Julian rubbed her shoulder, much like a big brother would. “No, Nyx, it is because you’re vulnerable now, and I don’t want them to hurt you. I don’t want to see that happen again to you or anyone else. It’s my job to protect my family.”

Beau stood, carrying her toward the door.

When he got there, he turned around. “Be careful. When you find that ghost, make her pay.”

It was directed at his sister.

Tori got it. Beau wanted Betty Remington to pay for putting her hands on his woman.

“Just take care of Nyx. Get her whatever she needs,” Tori said, feeling horrible. She knew Nyx hated her gift—until she found Beau. Then she had come to grips with it, and it had become something of value.

This case had stripped it away.

“What do we do now?” Roman asked. “I feel horrible. Coming here hurt her.”

“I. Miss. Her.”

They all glanced over at the radio. It had to be hard for Trey too. He’d found his human to attach to, and now he was lost.

“It’ll be okay, Trey,” Julian reassured.

He wished he knew that for sure, but he wasn’t really. This was new to all of them.

“I. Need. A. Medium. To. Keep. Me. Here.”

Julian knew what that meant.

“If. I. Don’t. Find. One. I. Can’t. Stay. Sprout.”

They never even thought about that. Nyx had grounded him, and that was at risk.

Tori couldn’t lose Trey. Yes, he was a spirit, but she had come to love having him haunting their business. It was her way of holding on to him.

Julian stopped her. “No! Don’t do it.”

“Jules, he’s my brother. I have to keep him with us. At least until Nyx gets better. Then we can go back to how it was.”

He hated this.

“Trey, can you and Bethany both use me?”

“If. She. Will. Let. Me.”

Tori knew that Bethany wouldn’t mind. Trey being closer would make her day.

Hell!

It would make her eternity.

“Move on in. You have my permission until Nyx is back.” Her body got warm, and she could hear him in her head. She started laughing.

Julian stared at her. “Are you okay?”

“I just had the oddest craving.”

He was wary. “For?”

“Porn and pizza. My brother is such a dead pervert. He’s lucky I can’t kick his ass.”

He stared at her. “I can’t even go there.”

Tori continued laughing. “I’m okay. I can hear him chattering away. He’s talking dirty to Bethany. That’s a little gross, but it’s not painful. No screaming, Trey.”

“Yes. Ma’am. I. Won’t. Hurt. You.”

Julian had to focus on the problem at hand. “How long do we have now that Roman’s mother is gone?”

Tori wasn’t sure. “We need to pull an all-nighter. We’re going to dig into the office, and we’re going to tear apart Rylee’s room. We’ve already done the Remingtons’ room, so we keep moving forward. We have to be missing something. It’s a matter of finding that one thread and connecting it.”

Julian didn’t mind working all night, but he was worried about his child. “He’s not going to possess her, is he?” he asked.

The radio came to life.

“
That’s. My. Neice. She’s. Pretty. Looks. Like. Tori.”

“Tori! He shouldn’t get to see her before I do! I helped make Veronica.”

“Pretty. Pretty. Smart. Talkative.”

Julian growled.

“He’s yanking your chain, Julian. He can’t see her. He’s in my head, not my uterus.”

“Gross. Sister. Bits. Yuck.”

Julian relaxed. “Good. Roman, which room do you want?” he asked. “It’s dad’s sex chamber or your smart sister’s room?”

He laughed.

That was a no brainer.

“We’re going to take my sister’s room. Have fun with the room of secrets. I pass.”

With that, they headed out.

Julian followed Tori out, and in the hallway, he stopped her. “Are you in any danger by housing two spirits in you? I need the truth.”

She patted him on the cheek. “I’m good. In fact, I’m not as tired as I was before. I owe it to Nyx to hold onto her spirit guide. Besides, I love Trey. He’s been helping us for weeks now. We can’t let him go where spirits go when no one contains them.”

Julian looked around.

“Uh, where do they go? I thought they haunted a house.”

She kissed him on the cheek. “Trey was killed violently. He is full of rage. We’re all that keeps him from going nuclear. Do you want to see him turn into the void that Betty has become?”

No, he absolutely didn’t want to go there. The last thing they needed was a rogue soldier who was unstoppable.

“Let’s get the perv’s office checked. Then you need some sleep,” Julian offered.

“I’m still thinking about porn.”

“Watching it or making it?” Julian asked. “If you’re in the mood, then I’m your guy.”

Tori snickered. “I’ll keep that in mind. I might have to take you up on that offer.”

Julian was more than fine with that.

       
         
* * *
  L   i   t   t   l  e  m  o  o  n  * * *

He cut out his heart.

It was bloody.

Gory.

And powerful.

As the man screamed and squirmed, he plunged the knife deeply into his body. When it was free and pumping in his hands, he stared down at it.

Here was life.

Here was death.

It made him feel unstoppable.

The pleasure overwhelmed him.

Like she had once taught him, so many years ago, he followed the directions. On the dead man’s chest, he drew a pentagram with his finger and placed the removed heart there.

With a sprinkle of herbs, and some finger bones that he’d found himself, he chanted a few words. They were the ones she gave him years ago. He never forgot them. It turned him on to know that even though she wasn’t here, she was with him.

They had created one hell of a bond.

Nothing could keep them apart.

Hopefully, this act would distract them enough to buy him some time.

What he needed was to chase a different avenue for this case. Maybe if they thought it was some cult, he could get lost in the mix.

No one knew the truth about him.

About her.

About them.

There was no way they would find out who was behind the deaths.

She was right.

He was safe.

That’s all that mattered.

In the end, he’d get away with this too. He had so much blood on his hands, but she kept him safe.

Always
.

       
         
* * *
  L   i   t   t   l  e  m  o  o  n  * * *

Rylee Remington’s

Room

Roman had to admit that he’d avoided this room the second his sister had gone missing. As a big brother, he was supposed to protect her, and honestly, he’d failed on so many levels.

Then again, they had never really gotten along.

He and Rylee were opposites.

While both were smart, blessed with really good genes, and the longing to learn, they weren’t similar any other way.

Rylee was quiet.

He was social.

He had many friends, but she kept her circle pretty small. He wished now, looking back at their lives, that he’d cared more about her.

On that day, he lost someone who could have been by his side when both of their parents had died.

“Are you okay?” Mattie asked, touching his cheek. He looked haunted, and she hated seeing him that way. The second they entered, he went quiet.