The Haunting at Grays Harbor (The River Book 8) (19 page)

“There’s only a few access points to it in the entire world,”
Eliza said. “Or so I’ve been told.”

“Unser apparently wanted his own,” Steven replied.
“Everything else was just a way to get there. Eximere included. He didn’t
really hate gifteds, he just saw them as a way to get what he wanted. They’re
powering things. The bodies in the ground behind Eximere are what’s keeping the
access point going.”

“So Maynard thinks there’s an access point to the Dark River
somewhere in the cave?”

“That’s his theory. My dad thinks Unser is long gone, not
interested in coming back. But Maynard couldn’t assure me the access point was
closed, or only one-way. Things could come back through it.”

“But they haven’t yet, have they?”

“The Marchers might have come through it. Unser set up all
kinds of defenses, so he might have used it to place them here.”

“Wow — you’re right! That would explain why they were there
in the first place.”

“So I couldn’t sleep, considering there’s a portal just
waiting to pop out another Marcher, or who knows what. Somehow Dad and Maynard
went to bed, but I couldn’t.”

“You’re going to hunt for the access point, right?”

“That’s my plan,” Steven replied. “Maynard said he’d help.”

“I’m sure Roy will too.”

“I don’t know. He’s not too enthused about this Dark River
thing. Seems spooked.”

“I was raised to never consider dabbling in it, not to even
talk about it, really. I’ll bet it’s the same for Roy.”

“I don’t know how we’ll locate it, but I guess that’s
something we’ll figure out tomorrow. I had to talk to you, though. Because if
we do find it, what then? Just shut it down? Find a way to keep things from
coming back? Or do we go through and find Unser?”

“Oh, Steven,” Eliza said, an undercurrent of dread filling
her voice. “I think that’s a bad idea. Going in.”

“You too, huh?”

“Well, yes. Maybe it’s just because of how I was raised, but
I’m legitimately scared of it.”

“You’ve never seen it?”

“Of course not.”

“Do you know anyone who has?”

“Well,” she paused. “I had a friend who lost someone to it. I
think it was her cousin. She lived back east, near an access point. The girl’s
body went into a coma and never recovered. Her family eventually pulled the
plug. My friend knew she had been going there frequently. Apparently it’s
addictive.”

“Maynard thinks the access point being here in the cave is
what makes Eximere addictive.”

“Oh!” Eliza said. “I suppose he could be right! Gives me the
shivers to think that all the time I was enjoying Eximere it was because of
spillover from that place!”

“Did your friend ever tell you anything about it? About the
Dark River?”

“She tried to save her cousin, but couldn’t. She knew nothing
about it, and tried to find someone who might know more who could help, but she
couldn’t find anyone. Apparently if you become an expert on it, you wind up
going there for good, it has that kind of draw. So there’s very few people in
the real world who know much about it.” She paused. “Steven?”

“Yes?”

“Please tell me you’re not considering going there?”

“So you’re with my dad on this?”

“Yes. If Unser has gone there, what’s to be gained by following
him?”

“Why leave everything running if he wasn’t coming back? Why
all the defense mechanisms, and a private portal? You wouldn’t care if the
access point vanished if you only needed it long enough to get to the Dark
River. You’d only keep it protected if you still needed it at some point down
the road.”

“We’ve obviously been wrong, or at least only half right,
about what Unser was up to. We may still not have a complete picture. Going to
the Dark River without knowing exactly why seems like a mistake. It’s too
risky.”

“I hate leaving loose ends, you know that,” Steven said.
“Look how leaving Michael out there bit us in the ass. And Jurgen. He may be
dead, but after what we found in Diablo, I’ll bet someone is still running his
operation. What am I supposed to do? Just live here with this hanging over my
head? Jason is buried here, for god’s sake.”

“Maybe you should move him,” Eliza said.

Steven paused. “I… I can’t do that.” He felt the sweat break
out on the back of his neck. “I can’t dig him up. I can’t do that.”

“I understand. Maybe Roy and I should do it. If Jason is
buried somewhere else, you won’t feel so trapped.”

“I can’t have his peace disturbed just because I feel
trapped. It’s too selfish.”

“You haven’t talked to him yet, have you?”

“No. I haven’t.”

“He’d be the first one to tell you to do it. To move him.”

“Well, there’s got to be another way.”

“You could just abandon Eximere altogether. Walk away.”

The moment Eliza suggested this Steven felt a pang in his
stomach. At first he thought it might be hunger, since it was the middle of the
night and he hadn’t eaten much for dinner. The more he felt the pain in his
gut, the more he realized it wasn’t a random hunger pang. It was a yearning, a
clinging, brought on by the suggestion of losing Eximere.

I’m addicted already,
he thought.

“I can’t do that either,” he said.

“Well,” Eliza said, pausing, “I don’t know what to say. I
can’t really think of any other options. If my opinion means anything to you,
you’ll stay away from the Dark River.”

Just being told not to do something makes me want to do it,
Steven thought inadvertently.

“Your opinion means a lot,” Steven said. “Thanks for
listening. I’m going to go in now. I’m freezing.”

“Anytime,” Eliza said. “You’ll let me know what happens?”

“Yes, I will,” he said, walking back to the tunnel entrance.

“Steven, something occurred to me,” Eliza said. “About Unser
and the device he made to drain gifteds. He must have intended it to be a
defense for his vortex and access point. I’m guessing he turned it on before he
passed through, as a way to keep gifted people at a distance. Why else have it,
right?”

“That would make sense,” Steven said.

“Who turned it off?” Eliza asked. “When we all came to the
estate with Jonathan, it was our focus that bumped the device on just enough to
start draining us. That means it was off when we got there. If Unser left it on
when he went through, who turned it off?”

Steven stopped walking. “Anita,” he said, without thinking.
“Anita.”

“Anita?”

“It would have been draining her the moment her son turned it
on. She must have been hunting for it, and discovered Eximere — or maybe she
had already found the place. Either way, she went there and found him in bed,
crossed over. I’ll bet she used his ring to shut it off. Probably lost all of
her abilities, being that close to it at full power. So she ingested the power
from the cubes to try and gain some back.”

“I wonder if Unser ever came back, while she was doing it,”
Eliza said. “If he felt threatened on the other side.”

“My father seems to think he’ll never come back,” Steven
replied.

“He’s probably right,” Eliza said. “And we’re overspeculating.”

“I appreciate you waking up to talk to me,” Steven said. “I
had to talk to someone.”

“It’s OK. I hope you can get back to sleep.”

“I doubt it,” he said, opening the large metal doors to the
tunnel. “Good night, Eliza.”

“Good night.”

“I’ve worked my way around that entire side,” Steven said,
panting. “Nothing.”

“Me neither,” Maynard said. “I didn’t cover as much ground as
you, though.”

Steven looked over at Roy, who was sitting on the back porch
of Eximere, reading a book. He could tell Roy was listening to their
conversation, and watching them over the top of the pages.

“You could come down and help, you know,” Steven yelled over
to Roy.

“I told you, I have no interest in finding it, and if you
knew what’s good for you, you wouldn’t either!” He reached for his mug of
coffee and took a long, defiant sip.

“So you’re just going to sit there, and watch us hunt for
it?” Steven asked.

“I’m not watching you,” Roy yelled back.

“He’s watching us,” Steven said under his breath to Maynard.
“He’s a stubborn old fart.”

“He may be that,” Maynard said, “but you realize I half agree
with him. I’m only interested in finding out the state of this thing, whether
it’s operational or not. I have no other interest. That’s as far as I go.”

“Fine,” Steven said. “Let’s just find it.”

“Nice day from up here,” Roy yelled. “Pleasant, slight
breeze. Hot coffee. Nice scenery. You’re wasting it.”

“Can’t see the bodies from up there?” Steven hollered back.
“Your old eyes too dim to see the graves? Or did you forget they are there?”

Roy scowled at him and raised his book.

Maynard and Steven searched for another hour, covering almost
every square inch of land surrounding the house. Steven pressed his hand
against the cold rock at the edge of the cave, testing to see if some of it was
illusory, if the access point was camouflaged. He found nothing unusual.

When he met up with Maynard in the middle of the front yard,
he could see that Maynard looked tired.

“Nothing,” Maynard said. “I don’t think it’s out here.”

“Me neither, unless it’s hidden somehow.”

“I think it’s in the house,” Maynard said.

“We’ve been over every square inch in there, too. Unless
there’s some secret passage we don’t know about.”

“Well, that’s what I’m thinking,” Maynard said, placing his
hands on his hips and looking up at the structure. “If you were Unser, where
would you put the access point?”

“In the hardest place to get to,” Steven answered
instinctually.

Maynard looked up at the ceiling of the cave, directly above
the house. A fuzzy drift of clouds obscured the top of the cave from their
view. “That’s the hardest place.”

Steven looked too. They’d never been able to see the ceiling
of the cave; it had always been covered over by the artificial clouds. When they
parted enough to see beyond, it just looked like a fuzzy blue sky, lit by some
yellowish light source they couldn’t pin down.

“Of course!” Maynard said, still looking up at the house.
“It’s a vortex! Why didn’t I think of that?”

“Of what?”

“Where have all the other vortexes existed? Where do they
always get built by the vorghost?”

“Well, the one at Barbara’s was in the attic.”

“They’re always in the attic,” Maynard said. “The highest
point in the structure. What’s in the attic of this house?” Maynard asked,
pointing.

“Don’t know, didn’t realize there was one,” Steven said,
looking up at the structure.

“Look — between the top floor and the roof. It’s not flat.
There’s an angle to it. That means there’s a space up there.”

“I’ve never seen a way to get up to it,” Steven said. “I
don’t think there is.”

“That’s what he might have hid,” Maynard said. “Come on.”

They went inside and passed Roy as he walked with an empty
mug back to the kitchen for a refill. He mumbled a “humpf!” as they passed.

“We think it’s in the attic,” Steven called after him.

“I don’t care,” Roy called back from the hallway.

“Come on,” Maynard said, ascending the stairs. “I’ll take the
west side, you take the east.”

Steven followed him, then turned down the hallway to his
right and began searching the ceiling for anything that might indicate a way
into the attic. He went from bedroom to bedroom, looking up, visually scanning
every square foot. He reached the last bedroom and realized he hadn’t checked
the closets, so he searched them in each room on the way back. Once he
completed his search, he found himself at the stairwell. Maynard hadn’t
reappeared, so he walked around the balcony to the west side. The first room on
the right was the room in which they’d found James Unser’s dead body. He could
hear noise from inside.

He walked in, and saw Maynard huffing and puffing as he tried
to slide a gigantic wardrobe that stood almost seven feet tall. Steven walked
over to him and helped, pushing the giant old antique with his shoulder. They
managed to slide it about a foot when the carpeting underneath bunched up and
stopped their progress.

“Ah!” Maynard said. “Look!” He was pointing at the edge of a
door frame, exposed behind the wardrobe. “He needed physical access to it while
he was constructing it, but once he crossed over, he could drift up to it
without using this door. So he hid it.”

“I’ll have to lift the other end up, to get it over the
carpet,” Steven said, leaving Maynard and walking to the other side of the
wardrobe.

“Try tilting it,” Maynard suggested. Steven pushed on the top
of the wardrobe, feeling the muscles he’d strained the day before scream at
him, and the wardrobe’s legs came up from the floor, allowing the carpet to
settle back into place. Then he lowered the wardrobe and returned to the other
side, helping Maynard push. Another six inches came into view. It was
definitely a door.

“How did you realize it was here?” Steven asked.

“Dimensions of the room looked off,” Maynard said. “If you go
out into the entryway, where the exterior wall faces the landing, you get a
sense of where the wall should really be. I knew the room wasn’t long enough.”

“Good eye,” Steven said.

They slid the wardrobe away from the wall, and the rest of
the door came into view. Maynard tried the handle, and the door opened out,
revealing a very narrow staircase.

“Should I get flashlights?” Steven asked.

“If what I think is up there is up there,” Maynard said. “We
don’t need them.”

Maynard walked into the stairwell and placed his foot on the
first step. Steven followed, finding that he had to turn his body slightly
sideways in order to fit. After fifteen steps they reached the top. They were
standing in a giant, open space, the rafters of the roof exposed, angling down
into the structure from the tip that ran along the middle of the room.

“Before we drop, I want your promise that whatever happens,
you do not go to the Dark River,” Maynard said.

“What are you expecting to see?”

“I think it’ll be a vortex, but that’s about all I can guess.
Give me your word. I don’t want to have to go chasing you.”

“I promise.”

Steven saw Maynard close his eyes. Steven joined him, and
jumped into the River.

The sides of the attic disappeared, and Steven found himself
knee deep in swirling blue mist. The size of the vortex was huge; much, much
larger than the one at the abandoned house. It was far bigger than Eximere or
the cave; it went on for as far as the eye could see.

Good heavens,
Maynard said.

Wow,
Steven replied.

It’s the biggest vortex I’ve ever seen,
Maynard said, turning to look all
around him.

The blue fog swirled around their legs and continued twisting
counter clockwise. They’d emerged about a hundred yards from the center of the
swirling mist.

Steven looked up, and he remembered seeing the stars above
Marie’s vortex, brilliant and shining as though they were in outer space. Here
they seemed to go on forever, in every direction. As he scanned the night sky
he saw a large, black area, circular, directly over the center of the vortex. It
was empty of stars.

You see it?
Maynard asked.

That’s the access point?
Steven said.

It’s got to be,
Maynard replied.
I’ve never seen anything like that in a
vortex before.

Maynard lowered his gaze and looked at the fog slowly
swirling around them.
No bodies or objects,
he said.
There’s usually
a few, in the mist. The vorghost uses them for power. This one is entirely
powered by the bodies in the back yard, I guess. I’ve never seen one so smooth
and even.

Creepy,
Steven replied.

Normally by now the resident vorghost would be visiting us,
wondering what we wanted,
Maynard said.
Since that would be Unser, and he’s passed over, I
expect we’ll not receive a greeting.

So it’s the maggots in that gel that are keeping all of this
going?

An incredible amount of power, yes,
Maynard replied.
Most vorghosts
are constantly seeking a power source. Looks like Unser somehow solved that
problem and has an almost perpetual supply. This vortex is so large, it must be
using unbelievably large amounts.

Why?
Steven asked.
Why keep all this running if you’ve gone to the Dark
River and you don’t care to come back?

Steven began walking toward the center of the vortex, looking
up at the blackness above it.

Remember your promise,
Maynard called to him.

I remember,
Steven said.
How would you get up, into it?

I don’t know,
Maynard said,
but do me a favor and stay away from the
center of the vortex, will you? That might be how.

As Steven walked the length of a football field, he kept
looking up into the circle of blackness directly over the most central point of
the vortex. Only the lack of stars differentiated it; it was too dark to
reflect any of the blue light produced by the vortex itself.

He stopped about ten feet from the center. Maynard came up
behind him.

Everything’s quiet,
Maynard said.
No vorghost. Nothing. I say we go back.

And then what?
Steven asked.

That’s a conversation we can have when we’re downstairs,
Maynard said.
Come on. We’re
going.

Wait
, Steven said, still staring up and into the blackness. As he watched, it
lightened, and he could see inside a house. There were people in it, all
drinking and having a good time. And there was Jason, holding a beer, talking
to someone. He was smiling and laughing, and seemed to be enjoying himself.

My son’s there,
Steven said.

No, he’s not,
Maynard said.
I promise, whatever you are seeing, it’s
not your son.

Steven felt an overwhelming urge to walk to the center of the
spiraling fog and let the blackness suck him up, envelop him with the scene he
was witnessing. He’d grab Jason and hug him, and tell him how sorry he was.
Jason looked so happy, he was sure he’d forgive him. Wherever the place was, it
held the promise of forgiveness, and Steven wanted to be there.

Just a few steps forward, into the center,
he thought.
And I could be
forgiven.

Steven, you promised,
Maynard said behind him.

Steven watched the scene up in the sky, surrounded by stars,
a blissful, joyous moment seeing his son alive again. He knew he would step
back and away from the center, honoring his promise to Maynard. But he wanted
to see more, to keep watching. Jason looked so happy.

He ripped himself from the images and turned from the center.

You thought you saw your son up there?
Maynard asked.

He was happy, talking with people,
Steven said.

It wasn’t him,
Maynard said.
That’s how it draws people. Makes you think
you can get what you haven’t got.

It’s powerful,
Steven said.
I was two seconds away from jumping in.

Maynard gave him a worried glance.
Can we go back now?

Steven walked around Maynard, his back to the center. Maynard
turned and followed. They dropped from the River, and found themselves at the top
of the staircase.

◊

“I don’t need to see it. I don’t want to see it.” Roy closed
his eyes like a child, throwing his body back into the chair on the porch.