She grins, pointing her finger at me. “Bongo.”
Bongo? Then I get it. “You mean Bingo.”
Shrugging. “See? I don’t know everything. I’m learning too. When you stop learning, you might as well be dead.”
“You were still afraid, Margrit.”
She nods. “Yes. And I ran away.”
“So? Where does that love stuff protect you?”
“I ran here,” she tells me. “In fact, when I came home, I came right to this spot.” Margrit pats the tree trunk. “I saw the aura surrounding you, Adam.” She closes her eyes and shivers. “I had seen that aura before, when I was a child.” Her eyes fly open and she looks at me. “During the war—many of the Nazi commanders had that sort of aura.” She sighs. “And like the child I once was, I was terribly afraid and I ran. To here—a place of safety.”
I watch her, waiting for her to continue. Layer by layer, she is revealing truths to me.
“Here, in safety, I was able to understand what I was facing. I wasn’t sure if you would find me, but I was confident you’d try. So I had to prepare.”
I gestured at her home. “The shield you put up.”
She nodded. “I wanted to help you, but I had to ensure my own safety first; like a lifeguard swimming out to a drowning man, I needed to make sure I didn’t go down with you.” She nods to herself. “This entity is powerful, Adam. While I sat here, I recalled all the times I was loved and loved in return.” She points to the house. “When I went inside to await your arrival, I went throughout my home, recalling all the love and joy that had been created within. I looked at old photos, handled mementos of our life together…” Her voice fades for a moment. “Shed some tears of longing for my husband…” Her voice brightens. “And was filled with joy and love of my life as it is.” She looks at me. “So when you arrived, I was prepared.” She pats my hand again. “I was able to help you because of love, Adam—not fear.”
I nod. “Love conquers all, huh?”
“Bongo.” She smiles and rises slowly. “Enough. Now let’s go inside and have some dinner. That is, if the stove still works. And then we rest. Get your things from the shed. You’re sleeping on the sofa after you take a shower.”
Hmm. Hot water. It’s been a while.
I wander over to the shed and grab the duffel bag. My head is still spinning with all that she told me. I cling to the hope that she’s right about Amy and even my family. All of this will settle with a good night’s sleep.
Little do I know that it isn’t meant to be.
TWENTY FOUR
WHEN WE COME INSIDE, I spend an hour scrubbing Margrit’s kitchen down, getting the smoke stains and smell out of her cabinets and walls. Surprisingly, a couple heating elements on the stove still work. After that, I head up to my first shower in what feels like forever. I don’t realize how much I miss a hot shower until I step into it. I take my time slathering soap on my body, washing the mud caked on my arms and legs.
At the tap on the bathroom door, I pull the shower curtain back, and my head still layered in shampoo pops out. “Margrit?”
“Adam. Leah’s brother Preston is here. You need to finish in there and come out here to talk to him.” The apprehension in her voice sends an icy jolt of fear down my spine.
“Be right there.” It comes out more steady than I’d ever have thought possible, considering what’s going through my head.
Shit. Preston. The kid I tossed into that dumpster. Double shit. Leah’s brother!
Oh triple shit! It comes to me in a flash. Leah. With all her preoccupation with anything paranormal, she’s an easy target for this demon! I’d been so worried about my family that I’d never given Leah a second thought after she peeled out of here!
“Oh nooo!” I say aloud. I rinse off and my wet body scrambles into my clothes, not even bothering to towel off.
When I get into the living room, Preston is sitting on the sofa next to Margrit. His eyes get wide when he sees me. “You! How’d I know I hadn’t seen the last of you?”
He’s out of his seat and nose to nose with me. He’s a skinny kid with glasses, a few years younger than me. His fists are clenched. He remembers how easily I tossed him into the dumpster, so he’s not taking a swing at me. Yet.
“Hold on, man,” I say with my palms raised. “You walked into the middle of something—”
“You woulda killed that kid!” he says.
“But I didn’t…” I drop my hands. “Because of you.”
“Preston…” Margrit called from the sofa. “This is Adam. He wasn’t himself that night. He’s good, Preston.”
“Did I hurt you, man?” I ask. “I’m really sorry I did that.”
He looks over to Margrit and takes a deep breath. “Where’s my sister, asshole? I know she was coming out here with Jake.”
Margrit gets to her feet and steps between us. She puts a hand on his chest. “You need to calm down, Preston. She left here this afternoon.” Her eyes are wide. “Now you’re saying she never went home?” She shoots a look at me.
I nod at her. “That thing made a threat that both of us would be sorry. I should have known it would go after Leah.”
“No. I should have known. I’m getting old and not as sharp as I once was. Damn it!” Her hands shake so bad she clasps them together, sitting on the edge of the seat.
Preston grabs my arm, spinning me around. “What’s going on? What is this thing you’re talking about? And why’s it after Leah?”
Margrit rises and steps closer to Preston. She grabs his hand and answers, “This thing is a demon, Preston. It possessed Adam. I made Leah leave for her own safety.”
He jumps away from me like I got the world’s biggest case of cooties. “You’re possessed?”
“No! I was able to get rid of it!”
Margrit chimes in. “But when Adam vanquished the demon it went after your sister.”
I know she’s right; that’s exactly what must have happened. I’m not proud to admit that part of me is relieved that my sister isn’t in danger after all. And then I’m wracked with guilt looking at Preston. He’s a skinny, sixteen-year-old kid who’s barely holding it together; he’s so worried. And from the way he accepts this crazy story, he either has great faith in Margrit, or he’s more gifted than I gave him credit for.
Waves of unease flow from Margrit when she looks at me. “It’s going to use her the same way it tried to use you. She’s not strong enough to resist it like you did, though.”
“And with her, there’s not going to be any problem getting some guy to comply. This evil spirit doesn’t care if it procreates through an ovum or sperm cell. Either way, it wins.”
Preston looks horrified as he pulls back staring at each of us in turn. “This thing wants my sister to get pregnant? That’s disgusting. Why? And why Leah?”
Margrit takes a deep breath before she answers, “It’s not just creating a baby, Preston. This demon will become that baby. This is how it will truly assume a human body. That’s its endgame.”
“That’s sick! No way is my sister getting raped by this thing—a damned demon!” He starts heading out of the room.
Margrit calls out to him. “Wait, we’ll go with you! You can’t drive in the state you’re in. Adam will drive us. We’ll find her, Preston.”
I’m right on his heels, going out the front door and across the veranda. “Hold up, bud. Margrit can’t walk as fast as we can. What about this cop? Jake?” But I curse myself as well. I’ve got Jake’s phone. How am I going to call him?
Margrit yells from behind me, “Take my car. We’ll stop at Jake’s place and let him know.”
He stops at his car and turns back. “Okay.”
Margrit hands me the car key and then gets in the passenger seat. When I start the car, she looks over at me. There’s no need for words. She’s thinking the same thing as me. What if Leah did what I did, leaving town under this entity’s control? When I turn my head to watch the drive behind me, wheeling Margrit’s ve
hicle past Preston’s car, I reach out and touch Preston’s arm.
Like always, his life and history flood into my mind in a split second. Of all Leah’s family, he’s the closest to her. The one who loves her unconditionally. Funny. It’s just like me and my own kid sister. I got Amy, and Leah’s got Preston.
I stop the car for a second and grip his arm firmly.
“Hey!” he says, but holds still. He looks at me wide-eyed. He can feel me poking around; nobody’s ever been able to sense when I would do that. He tries to pull away, but I grasp tighter. I’m able to reach out to Leah through his…shit—through his love for his sister! Damn, Margrit was right about the power of love.
It comes to me in a flash. She’s in town, at a bar. A couple of rough-looking guys hover close by.
This demon thing sure doesn’t waste any time. I turn to Margrit. “She’s still in Saranac. At some skanky bar.”
“Do you know where it is?” she asks.
I let go of Preston’s arm. “No.” Oh shit, how can we find her?
TWENTY FIVE
I PUNCH IT, and we fly down the road heading toward the town. I don’t have a clue where to look, but I’m playing my best guess.
After about two minutes Margrit says, “Slow down, Adam.” She points to a driveway just up ahead. “That’s where Jake lives. Turn in. This demon is not going to relinquish its grip easily. We’ll need his help.”
Preston puts his hand on the back of my seat, leaning forward. “You really think this demon is in control of her? That’s she’s possessed?”
I glance into the rearview mirror. “Y’know, you’re buying into all this pretty easily, Preston. How come?”
He glances over toward Margrit. “We’ve all dealt with stuff like this before,” he says.
“What? Demons? Possessions?”
“Nope.” He leans forward as I lurch off the highway onto Jake’s driveway. “Ghosts.” He points up at Jake’s home. “In that house, actually.”
“Why do you think Jake was so receptive to what I told him, Adam?” Margrit chimes in. “He’s been down a road like this one before.” She snorts. “More than once, actually.”
Preston asks, “Yeah, ghosts were one thing, but you guys are saying demons and possession! You think Leah’s possessed?”
I ease my foot off the accelerator and turn in toward Jake’s house. “Yeah, I do. I just hope we’re not too late to shut this thing down.” I stop the car behind the police vehicle and leave the engine running. “Stay here. I won’t be long.”
As I jump out of the car, Jake appears at the front door. “What’s going on?” He comes outside, closing the door behind him.
“It’s Leah. She never went home. This demon got to her, Jake.”
“What? Leah?” His head jerks forward, and his mouth snaps shut when he clues into what’s happening. “Oh shit.” He looks back to his house. “Sure glad my wife and the girls are on that shopping trip. This is really creepy.” He turns back to me. “What do you know?”
“She’s in some bar in town. We’re gonna need your help getting her out. Maybe arrest her or something till we can help get rid of this thing once and for all.” Although I’m not sure how we’re going to accomplish that; we have to try.
He thinks for a minute. “She’s only seventeen, so she’s probably at Tapped Out. Those owners play fast and loose serving minors.” He heads back inside. “Let me get my stuff and we’ll head over.”
I race back to the car as he disappears inside the house. When he comes out again he’s in his uniform and strapping on his gun belt. I back out the drive and wait to follow him. “He thinks he knows the bar. Some place called Tapped Out.”
Preston groans, “That place is skeevy. I cross the street rather than walk by it. Bikers and lowlifes hang out there. If he’s right, we’ll sure need a cop to help out.”
Jake wastes no time, even using the siren as he races down the road. Margrit’s car shudders when I floor the gas pedal to keep up. It’s probably never gone this fast before.
“Great. Just great,” I say. If he’s right and it’s a tough bar, this is going to be kind of scary. Not bad enough that we’ll be dealing with this demented demon but a bunch of thugs as well? Preston’s only sixteen, Margrit’s an old lady and me... I’m not exactly Hulk Hogan material, y’know.
Margrit turns to me. “Enough with the negativity. I told you before; you’re stronger than you give yourself credit for. You need to firmly believe this, if we’re going to help Leah.”
She looks back at Preston. “That goes for you, too. Leah loves you more than anyone in this world. Don’t underestimate how powerful a weapon love is in saving your sister.”
We enter the outskirts of the small town, and Jake turns down a side street. It’s dark except for a neon sign that pulses out the message ‘Cold Beer’. There are a few Harley’s parked on the street out front. Even from inside the car, the beat of heavy metal music throbs through the air.
Jake gets out of the car and waits for us to join him. “Now, listen,” he says, “we’re not looking for trouble here. We just want to go in and convince Leah to come with us, okay? Let’s keep it low-key.”
But I know that’s probably not going to be the way it goes down. And Jake showing up in uniform is not going to go over well. There’s no doubt in my mind that Leah is in there.
I take a deep breath, trying to summon my courage. “I should go in first. There might be a chance that Leah will listen to me.”
“No. She’s’ my sister. She’s more likely to listen to me.” Preston doesn’t wait for an answer but starts going toward the door.
“Hold on!” Jake barks, stopping Preston in his tracks. “First of all you’re a minor! You can’t go in there without an adult, kid.” Jake shoots a hard look at me, “So are you, for that matter. I’ll go get her.”
Margrit clucks her tongue at us, “It’s got to be me. Leah respects me. And as for the hoodlums in-side, no one is going to pick a fight with an old woman. At least let me try.”
Shit. She’s right. Even Jake knows this. He looks down at his feet for a moment and then looks back at her. “It’s worth a shot. But if she won’t come out on her own, don’t get tangled up arguing the point. Come out and I’ll handle it. With any luck she isn’t even in that dump.”
Margrit shakes her head. “She’s in there. I get a very clear sense of her presence.” She squeezes Preston’s shoulder and then walks into the bar. The last I see of her is the aura of silver before the door closes.
It’s awkward as hell standing with Leah’s brother and the cop. All three of us feel like tools letting an old woman lead the charge against this hellion. But there’s less chance of blood getting spilled with Margrit talking to Leah. And even though the crowd is rough, who would get rough with a woman in her eighties?
After what seems like an hour but is probably more like ten minutes, the old lady comes out. She’s visibly shaken, clutching her chest with her hand. “She left with two men. They went out the back door. I tried to get her to come with me, but this isn’t Leah we’re dealing with. She’s not even trying to resist it.”
“Come on!” Jake calls over his shoulder, running down the street toward an alleyway to the back.
“Go!” Margrit pushes my shoulder and I take off after him. Preston is just behind me.
We round the corner and come to the back parking lot of the bar. Boxes and trash cans are lined up against the building. Movement in the shadows near the edge of the lot catches my eye and Jake’s voice cuts the air.
“Stop right there! Hands where I can see them. Slowly, step away from the girl.” He’s got his gun pointed at two gorilla-sized guys. Tattooed arms the size of logs stick through leather vests emblazoned with gang colors.
The guy on the left steps forward, a sneer on his sweaty face. “We ain’t doin’ nuthin’ wrong. You got no cause—”
“Leah, get over here.”
I hold Preston back when he tries to get by me, on his w
ay over to his sister. Instead, I speak to her. “Leah. I know what happened. I can help you.”
Her eyes narrow and when she speaks; even her voice has changed. It’s guttural and raspy. “Help me? You can hardly help yourself. I don’t need you anymore.” She rubs her hands over herself. “This body will do just as well.” She rolls her hips like a stripper, and licking her lips turns to each of the thugs with her. “Don’t you think so, boys?”
“Oh my God! Leah!” Preston finally gets it. This girl he’s gaping at is no more Leah than I am.
Like a pair of mongrels smelling a bitch in heat, the two guys turn and face off against Jake. One of them cracks his knuckles. “This is a private party, piggy; and you ain’t invited.”
“That’s right, TJ!” Leah eggs him on. “Show me what kind of man you are!”
“I said step away from the girl, NOW!” Jake roars at the two guys. Leveling his gun he barks, “Leave her with us and you’re free to go. No questions asked.”
The first guy looks over at his partner and then bolts off into the back street. Leah watches him go and snarls. “Coward!” She turns to the other guy and places her hand on his arm. “C’mon, TJ. He won’t shoot us. Let’s go back to your place and party.”
Haunted By The Succubus Page 15