What a Ghoul Wants (34 page)

“Thanks, John,” I said. “Anyone else?”

Gopher sighed. “Yeah, I’ll go,” he said.

I grinned. “Sorry, pal. You’re going to have to sit this one out.”

“Why?” he asked, clearly insulted.

I pointed to his hand. “No way am I taking someone with an injury like that along.
You can stay behind, but you’re not allowed to pester me on the headset, got it?”

“Yeah, yeah,” he said, but I could tell he was relieved.

“I’m in,” said a voice from behind me, and I turned to see Inspector Lumley standing
in the doorway of the dining hall.

“We didn’t expect to see you here,” I told him as he came forward and took a seat.
He looked like he’d been up all night.

“I just came from my office,” he admitted. “I knew you’d be taking on the Widow tonight
and I wanted to help in any way I can.”

I eyed Heath and he nodded. “Okay,” I said. “You’re in. If anyone can get your brother
to come out of that portal, it’ll be you. But you’re going to need to get some sleep
before we set out—at least a couple of hours. I’m not taking some sleep-deprived,
punch-drunk man along on a hunt this dangerous.”

“No problem at all,” he assured me. “What time are we setting off?”

“Midnight,” I told him. “If you leave after the meeting and go right to bed, you should
have at least seven hours to recuperate.”

“Which access point are we going to take?” Heath asked, reaching for Gilley’s iPad
to pull up the blueprints of the castle.

That was the hardest decision we were going to have to make. If we picked the wrong
location to strike an attack on the Widow, then we could pay for it with our lives.
I studied the map of the castle and finally made up my mind. “There,” I said, pointing
to the entrance from the kitchen. “We’ll go in there and take the Widow and her demon
on in the large main hall of the south wing.”

“But that’s not near her portal,” John said. “I mean, if we’re guessing that her portal
is in that secret passageway I opened on the second floor.”

“Oh, I’m positive it’s there,” I assured him. “But if we can make it to the main hall,
we’ll have a lot of room to fight her and wear her out. We’ll be covered in magnets,
and there won’t be any water or narrow hallways around. If we get into trouble, we
can always jump out the door to that little patch of rock I landed on.”

“Isn’t that a ten-foot drop?” Heath said, like he really didn’t like that idea.

“Beats getting tackled by the Widow,” I replied.

“Good point.”

“Hopefully, we’ll be able to draw the Widow and her demon out into the open one at
a time, and the four of us,” I said, pointing to myself, John, Michel, and the inspector
in turn, “can all box her in while Heath pounds on her with the racket and weakens
her to the point that she retreats.”

“Then what?” Gil asked when I’d stopped to think through the plan.

“Well, then we’ll have to head upstairs and try to push her into the portal, while
getting the others out.”

No one at the table looked like they thought that was a very good plan, but I’d thought
it through for hours and hours, and any way you sliced it, it was a very dangerous
mission that would call for a lot of improvisation and could go horribly wrong in
a dozen different ways.

“Okay,” Heath said at last while he stood up to effectively end the meeting. “We meet
back here at eleven thirty to go over the plan one last time and gear up. Until then,
let’s all try to get some shut-eye.”

Chapter 15

I woke up at ten o’clock, anxious and fidgety. Heath was still asleep, so I spent
the next hour lying awake, staring at the ceiling. At last I heard him say, “How long
you been up?”

“A little while.”

He pushed himself onto his elbows and considered me blearily. “I know what’ll take
your mind off things.”

I pushed him playfully and said, “No way, buddy. No time for hanky-panky. We need
to be downstairs in twenty minutes.”

“I could work with that,” he said, wrapping his arms around me to pull me underneath
him for a kiss.

I indulged him for only that, then wriggled out from underneath. “Come on. We’ve gotta
get moving.”

We were the first ones into the war room, or at least I thought until I heard someone
giggle from the kitchen. I poked my head through the doorway only to pull it back
immediately. Heath looked at me curiously as I walked quickly away. “Gil and Michel,”
I whispered.

“So?”

“They’re having. . . er. . . a
moment
.”

“Ahh,” Heath said with a light laugh. “Good for Gil. Have you noticed how much more
cooperative he’s been lately?”

“Yes. And I’m praying that it continues. Gil tends to run through the boys, so we’ll
see how long this lasts.”

About eleven twenty the others began to make their way into the dining hall. The inspector
showed up first, and he looked very handsome out of his dress shirt and blazer. Tonight
he wore a white long-sleeved polo and dark jeans, and I could tell the few hours’
rest had done him some good, although there was still a hard edge to his eyes, something
that he’d developed the minute I’d suggested his mother may have had a hand in his
father’s murder.

Meg arrived and got to work making us some hot tea, and Kim and John came in together.
Something the rest of us pretended not to notice. Gil and Michel came out of the kitchen
when Meg went in, and I noticed that Gilley’s shirt was on inside out. No one said
anything, but we all noticed and snuck secret smirks at one another, which I thought
was funniest of all.

At last Gopher arrived, and he took up a seat next to Gil. “Dude, did you get dressed
in the dark?” he asked, pulling on Gil’s shirt.

Gilley looked down at himself and turned bright red. Both he and Michel blushed down
to their toes. “Oops,” Gil said, after clearing his throat. He quickly turned his
back to us and turned his shirt the right way out.

The attack team then geared up, donned headsets, and made our way over to the entrance
to the south wing via the kitchen. It took us only moments to move the shelving aside
again and we all squatted down in front of the door. “I’ll lead the way,” I told the
boys, but Heath shook his head and held up the racket.

“
I’m
on point, Em. You navigate me from behind, okay?”

“Do I have a choice?”

“Nope.”

I rolled my eyes. “Fine. After you, pal.”

Heath crawled forward to the front of the line and I tucked in right behind him. We
moved through the door and I whispered, “Do your best to hold on to your nerves until
we get to the main hall, fellas. Spooks are attracted to fear, so stay calm.”

My words were much easier said than done, I knew, but nobody complained and we all
moved forward through the door and stood up again. Then we continued down the hallway,
creeping along on tiptoe as we slowly inched our way forward. We instinctively paused
at every creak, moan, and groan coming from the old castle.

Faintly I could hear the sound of a door slamming intermittently. I thought it might
be the very door I jumped through the last time the Widow had me cornered. Heath stopped
to listen every time it slammed, and finally I leaned in and said, “That’s normal.
There’s a door leading to the outside that slams with the wind.”

He nodded and we moved a bit faster after that. At last we came to the end of the
corridor, and I motioned to the right in the direction of the central hall. I had
a hand on Heath’s shoulder, and I could feel the tension radiating through him. He’d
never admit that he was scared, but I knew that his near drowning by the Widow had
to be setting him on edge.

The hallway we were in was short and it emptied out into the large central hall. Heath
paused and held up his camera, turning the viewfinder so that we could all see the
area illuminated. When I looked through it, my breath caught. I hadn’t realized when
I’d been in here the first time that the walls were practically oozing with spectral
energy. They were slimed with ectoplasm—a sort of oozy substance that some spooks
leave behind when they walk through something solid, like a wall.

But this was ectoplasm on a scale I’d never seen before. Great dark swaths of it coated
every wall both up and down, and I shivered because I had a feeling that this particular
ectoplasmic mess wasn’t created by the Widow, but by her demon.

“You
actually
spent time in here?” Heath whispered to me.

“I didn’t know it looked like this,” I told him, still in frightful awe of the scope
and size of the slime.

“What
is
that?” the inspector asked from behind me.

“It’s ectoplasm,” I said. “And I think we should be careful to stay away from the
walls, guys.”

I wanted to move forward again, but Heath wasn’t budging. He just kept sweeping the
camera up and down the walls. I could feel the tension running through him kick up
a notch, and I knew that he had to be struggling internally. I gave him a minute and
then I saw him square his shoulders and step forward into the main hall.

As we entered, we fanned out to walk side by side, everyone’s eyes roving the walls
and hallways to the left and right to make sure nothing was sneaking up on us. “Should
we head upstairs?” John asked.

I looked over at him and saw that he was looking a little pale and clammy. “You okay?”
I asked. I hoped he wasn’t going to freak out again and take off running. That would
spell disaster for both him and us.

“Yeah,” he said, but he hardly sounded confident.

“Do you want me to carry that?” I asked, pointing to Gilley’s Super Spooker.

He shook his head and I put a reassuring hand on his arm. “Hang in there, buddy. We’ll
get through this.”

Michel was also trembling and looking scared, while the inspector was faring only
slightly better, or at least he hid his fear better. I had a feeling the vibe in this
place was doing its number on everybody. I motioned to Heath to head to the stairs.
We needed to get on with this or get the hell out of here.

As we were making our way over to the stairs, the door I’d leaped out of suddenly
blew open with a loud bang.

We all jumped, but John actually shrieked. I clamped my hand over his mouth, but I
had a sinking feeling that his outburst had given us away.

“Em!” Heath whispered.

I looked at him and saw that his chin was lifted in the direction of the upstairs
landing. There, at the railing, was the Widow, levitating two feet off the ground
as she smiled evilly down at us.

In my ear I heard Gilley shriek. It was the first I’d heard from him since entering
the south wing, and I knew he was reacting to the appearance of the Widow.

Immediately Heath handed off the camera to me and stepped in front of me, holding
up the magnetized racket threateningly. Michel and John also edged closer to me, which
blocked my view of the Widow.

I tried to peer around Heath’s shoulders, but I was boxed in, and for several seconds
I didn’t know what was happening. Then Gilley gave another shriek and shouted, “Michel!
Look out!” And I knew Michel’s camera had picked up something.

An instant later Michel vanished from my side as he flew across the room to land in
a heap on the floor. I realized belatedly that the demon had come up from the rear,
and struck us from behind.

Heath whirled around as the demon—a big black mass of shadow with red glowing eyes—came
around for the second attack.

“Hit it!” I shouted just as Heath swung hard with his racket. The demon and Heath’s
racket connected, and Heath was knocked off his feet from the force of the blow, but
oddly there was no sound. It simply connected, sent the demon tumbling backward, and
in the explosion of energy, Heath fell back to the floor.

I tried to get to Heath to help him get up, but John was in my way again, and with
the inspector behind me, John got to him first.

As Heath was being helped to his feet, I was slammed hard from behind and sent tumbling
headfirst into the banister, cracking my head hard on the wood. For a few seconds
I lost my wits, and just as I was attempting to stand, I felt another blow from behind,
which once again sent me headfirst into the banister.

Stars danced behind my lids and I rolled to the ground and tried to cover my head.
“You bitch!” I shouted when I managed to open one eye and saw the Widow there flashing
me her sick smile.

Behind her I could see the inspector, John, and Heath all struggling to fend off the
demon, who kept going for Michel—himself dazed and moaning on the floor. Heath managed
to get between the demon and Michel and every time Heath would strike at the big black
blob with the racket, the demon would spin and whirl away, but come charging right
back again.

Behind Heath, Lumley and John used their hands to prop Heath up so that the blows
wouldn’t knock him off his feet again, but I was separated from them with no chance
of giving or getting help.

The Widow glanced over her shoulder at the scene, and turned back to me to laugh wickedly.
In a flash, however, her laugh vanished and she hissed in my direction. I got to my
feet and reached down to my tool belt for a spike in one of the canisters I was carrying,
but my fingers were too slow and the Widow came at me again.

She slammed into me hard, but this time my back took the blow from the banister and
I managed to keep on my feet. Realizing that she had the advantage, I allowed my eyes
to rove over to the door—the same one I’d run out of when last she had me cornered
here. The door was slightly ajar and I pretended to start for it. The Widow moved
quickly to intercept me and that’s when I cut back and dashed up the stairs, turning
just in time to find her hurtling toward me. She hissed again and came at me with
hands outstretched for my throat. I got a spike up in the nick of time and she screamed
from the impact.

I darted up a few more steps as she spun away. I needed the advantage of high ground.
What I forgot was that the Widow could levitate. When she recovered, she rose up a
few feet, nearly level with me and tried to strike at me again. I slashed out at her
with my spike and she pulled back.

I made it up another stair and again fended off her advances. The third time she came
at me, however, she feinted to the right before striking me from the left. I fell
against the stairs, barely holding on to my spike.

I kept my entire focus on the Widow, but I could hear shouting all around me. I heard
it from the boys down the stairs, and from Gilley in my ear. It was hard to ignore,
but I was determined to keep my wits and when the Widow came at me a fourth, fifth,
and sixth time, I managed to get in a few good jabs with my spike.

By now she was tiring, and she was holding her hands out to the sides, as if they
physically hurt her, and I had no doubt they did. She kept striking at my torso, which
was covered in magnets from the vest, and it had to be wearing on her.

Her attacks then came a little further apart, and she no longer levitated. Instead,
she stalked me on the stairs, darting up two or three steps at a time, then tumbling
down again as I fought her off.

It was obvious she was losing energy, and when she appeared to have weakened enough,
it was I who went on the attack. I chased her down three steps and struck with my
spike. She shrieked and darted to the side of the wide stairs, and somehow she managed
to get up the steps above me.

Two minutes earlier this would have greatly concerned me, but I knew that I had her
on the ropes now, and I went after her with a vengeance.

I darted up the stairs, my spike straight out in front of me, and hit at her again
and again. In my ear I heard Gil cry, “It’s weakening!” and knew that Heath and the
others must be winning the battle against the demon.

I also knew that by draining the Widow, I would be draining the demon too, so I increased
the speed and ferocity of my attacks on her, driving her up the stairs. At last, as
she reached the landing, she hissed one final time and whirled around to run down
the hallway. I gave chase, but as I crested the landing, the Widow suddenly vanished.

I was panting hard by now, and it took me a few seconds to catch my breath. Before
I was really ready, I forced myself to move forward at a trot. I figured she’d go
for her portal, which I hoped I could find in the maze of hallways and corridors.
Behind me I heard Heath yell at me to wait, but I wanted to close in on the Widow
and drive her into her portal in as weak a condition as possible. “What’s happening?”
I heard Gilley shout. “M. J.? Are you there?”

“I’m. . . here. . . Gil,” I panted. “Closing in. . . on. . . the Widow.”

“Wait for Heath!” Gilley yelled.

“No,” I said. I wasn’t waiting for anyone. If I lost the Widow in one of these rooms
or hallways, then we’d never free her prisoners, because I certainly wasn’t coming
back for round two of this.

I saw movement at the end of the hallway, and I had a feeling it was the Widow. Pouring
on the speed, I dashed down the hallway and turned left, only to come to a stop when
I saw a woman huddled in the middle of the hallway, weeping uncontrollably. I realized
that she was the same woman I’d seen the first night we’d stayed at the castle, and
I also realized that she was once again directly opposite my old room.

I began to run again, but I was very quiet in my approach and she didn’t even realize
I was there until I stood right behind her. “Catherine,” I said, and she started and
looked up at me with a mixture of bewilderment and fear. “It’s time for you to go
home.” I then lifted my chin and yelled out, “Sam Whitefeather! I need help! Show
Lady Catherine Mortimer the light! Help her!”