Afraid of the Dark: A Paranormal Women's Fiction Novel (Midlife Spirits Series Book 1)

by H. P. Mallory

  I did as I was told and suddenly felt a wash of cold air all around my body, as if Drake had suddenly enveloped me in his cold embrace. My skin tingled all over my body as if I’d just escaped a freezing cold pool and now stood in a draft.

  “Repeat after me,” Christopher instructed before taking a deep breath. “I, Peyton Clark, welcome the spirit of Drake Montague to enter me and become one with me, to make my body his body, to make my home, his home,” he finished and I repeated the words immediately after.

  The light-headedness continued to plague me, and my breathing was now coming quickly, in short gasps, as my heartbeat continued to increase. I felt my eyes close of their own volition.

  “You can still change your mind, ma minette,” I heard Drake’s voice in my head and, from the breathiness of his words, I had to imagine he was experiencing something similar to what I was.

  “No, I’m not changing my mind,” I responded adamantly.

  “Repeat after me: Enter me through the blood of my offering,” Christopher continued, eyeing me speculatively as if he wasn’t sure if I could handle whatever was happening to me.

  “Enter me through the blood of my offering, Drake,” I said in my mind.

  “Ma minette,” his voice sounded strained, but exhilarated. I could feel the numbness of my fingers slowly giving way to a tingling sensation. “I can taste your life!” I could hear the smile on his voice.

  “Enter me through the blood of my offering, Drake,” I repeated.

  I arched forward at the same time that I yelled out as feelings of an incredible wind beat through me. It was as if the wind blasted against my face and then traveled through my fingers into my being, spreading into all the corners of my body, bonding with me, filling me until I was brimming with something that was almost impossible to explain. It felt like energy suddenly buzzing through me only the feeling wasn’t at all uncomfortable, just new, different.

  “Peyton!” I heard Christopher’s voice but was only barely aware of it. “Peyton!” he called out again and then smacked my cheek to get my attention.

  I opened my eyes and thrust myself forward, panting as I tried to catch my breath. Once I could see clearly and once my heart stopped pounding, I sat up and took stock of my surroundings. Christopher was just staring at me while Lovie did the same from the far side of the room.

  “Did it work?” Christopher finally whispered to me, his eyes wide.

  “Ma minette,” Drake’s voice sounded in my head. “Being inside you is pure bliss.”

  I glanced up at Christopher as I tried to will my pounding heart to regulate. I ran my hand across my perspiring forehead. “It worked.”

  Chapter Seven

  I was suddenly bombarded with thoughts and images and memories that weren’t my own. I grasped my head and clamped my eyes shut tightly at the same time that Christopher reached down and gripped my shoulder.

  “You must control the flow of his thoughts, Peyton,” he said in a firm voice. “You must be able to regulate his thoughts.”

  I glanced up at Christopher and frowned, part of me thinking I was seeing him for the first time. I had a feeling that part of me was Drake. “How do I do that?” I demanded.

  Lovie stood up and approached us, stepping over the powder circle as she reached for my hand. I glanced up into her kind face and took a deep breath. “Yours is the more powerful spirit as your body belongs to you,” she said tenderly. “If you want to silence him, to shut him out, you simply think those exact words. Whatever you want from him, envision it and so shall it be.”

  I nodded and then took another deep breath, thinking to myself and apparently to Drake, “I need to shut you out for a moment, Drake, until I can gain control of myself again.”

  As soon as I thought the words, the buzzing flow of energy seemed to die down within me and all the foreign images, thoughts, and memories that had been bombarding me simply stopped until I was left with only the quiet splendor of my own thoughts.

  “Did that work?” Lovie asked.

  I just nodded, feeling Christopher’s eyes on me. “Just remember that whatever you want or need from Drake, you just ask him for it,” he said. “It’s very important that you don’t allow his will to overtake yours. That’s when people lose their minds.”

  “Nice of you to tell me this now,” I grumbled, feeling suddenly exhausted.

  Lovie laughed and took both of my hands in hers, squeezing them gently as if to remind me that everything was going to be okay. “You need to sleep now, Peyton,” she said in her bell-like cadence. “Your body has been taxed which means you will need plenty to eat and drink. Even though you might not realize it, you’ve been through an enormous experience so it’s best to imagine your body is wounded and needs time and nourishment to rehabilitate itself.”

  Christopher nodded as he retrieved one of his bags and started repacking the items on the table. “And Drake will push you to allow him to experience this new world he’s seeing for the first time in a long time. You must remember to go at your own pace. He’s tasting life again and will not want to pause in his quest for new experiences but you must keep in mind your own needs and do not allow him to push you.”

  I just nodded and suddenly felt just as tired as Lovie warned me I would be. But before I took their advice and went in search of my bed, there was one question that still remained unanswered. “What about the entity?” I started, my voice coming out fatigued. “Is the entity still in my house?”

  Lovie didn’t respond but glanced over at Christopher, who folded the tablecloth and put it away. Then he started folding the table’s legs into itself. He looked at me and his expression was one of distraction. “Yes, the entity is still here. We have not yet performed the exorcism.”

  I swallowed hard. “But . . .”

  “It will not be able to hurt you because your psychic defenses have been buttressed by Drake’s spirit,” Christopher continued as he carried the now folded card table to the wall on the opposite side of the room and began folding the chairs into themselves to make for easier carrying.

  “Okay,” I started, not exactly thrilled with the fact that there was still a highly malevolent and powerful force in my house. “When can you perform the exorcism?”

  Christopher sighed as if he was annoyed with me. “Both Lovie and I require at least a couple of days to rebuild our psychic defenses. Just as your body requires sleep and nutrition to heal its psychic wall, so will ours. If we attempted the exorcism now, the entity would be far too strong for us and the results could be disastrous.”

  “So should I . . .” I started.

  “We will contact you as soon as we feel we are ready to return,” Lovie said in a kind voice before Christopher could blast me with another of his less than friendly statements.

  Christopher glanced at Lovie and motioned to the table he held under one arm and the two chairs he held under the other. “Are you able to get the rest, Lovie?” he asked as he motioned to the two bags and the box, which sat unattended in the corner of the room.

  She simply nodded as Christopher started for the door but thinking better of it, paused and turned back to face me. “You’ll be getting our bill in the mail.”

  Lovie offered me an apologetic smile as she followed Christopher out of the double doors and I turned to the subject of getting some sleep.

  ***

  I think I managed to get about an hour of sleep ... maybe. Even though I couldn’t hear Drake’s voice in my head, presumably because I’d forced it out, there was a general restlessness inside of me that hinted to the fact that he was excited and wanted to be out and about exploring.

  After tossing and turning for the last however long, I finally gave up and sitting up in my bed, rubbed my eyes as I stifled a yawn, and glanced at the clock. It was eight in the morning, which meant that either I’d slept longer than I imagined or the possession ritual had taken a really long time to perform.

  “Drake,” I thought. “Are you there?”

  �
��Bien sûr, je suis là! Of course I’m here!” came the irritated response. “I’ve been here the entire time you’ve been asleep, waiting for you to wake up! I’ve been keeping myself company!”

  I laughed, I couldn’t help it. He just sounded so irritated and somehow I found his irritation amusing. Feeling like I had to pee, I stood up and started for the bathroom when something occurred to me ... since Drake was sharing my body that meant he would play witness to me peeing and, furthermore, eventually he’d also see me naked ...

  “Ah, oui,” he said, his voice taking on a pleased tone. “I had not considered that absolute benefit to our arrangement.”

  “Ugh, I need to be better at hiding my thoughts from you!” I railed back at him as I pushed open the door to the bathroom and wondered if there was a way to keep him from seeing me during times I’d rather he not. Thinking it might work, I craned my neck upward so I could only see the ceiling as I pulled up the ridiculous nightgown Christopher had leant me and feeling for the toilet, blindly guided myself down.

  “Do you really think this necessary?” Drake demanded in a put out tone.

  “Yes! I need to maintain some shred of my own privacy!” I yelled back at him.

  He chuckled. “Has it not crossed your mind, ma minette dearest, that I have already seen you in every state of your undress?”

  Hmm, I’d forgotten about the fact that Drake had already witnessed all my embarrassing moments considering he was haunting my house and he was beyond nosy. I didn’t say anything but frowned as I exhaled and figured I might as well not encourage a neck cramp. After I finished my business, I flushed the toilet and walked to the sink where I glanced at myself in the mirror. I didn’t look any different, I thought to myself as I washed my hands and wondered how much my life would change now that I had Drake eavesdropping on it.

  “Let’s practice something,” I thought.

  “Practice what?” came his perturbed response.

  “What can you see at the moment?” I continued as I stared into the mirror.

  “I see your reflection, ma beauté. And while I must admit I am not in the least bit fond of that nightgown the warlock lent you, I am quite fond of the way in which your nipples protrude through the very thin fabric.”

  “Really, Drake?” I ground out at him. But then I reminded myself that being upset with Drake for his constant suggestive remarks was like being upset with the wind for blowing. And, what was more, I had a theory to test. I focused on myself in the mirror again and then thought the words, “I’m shutting you out so you can’t see what I am seeing at the moment.”

  “Pourquoi? Why would you do that?” he demanded.

  I smiled broadly as I wondered if my words had the desired effect. “Can you still see me?” I asked. “And for that matter, can you hear me when I talk out loud like this?”

  I could feel the fact that he was annoyed. “Bien sûr! Of course I can hear you! You do possess ears, you know? And as to whether or not I can see you, when you disallow me to share in your vision, what do you expect the outcome to be?”

  So it had worked. Drake could only partake of my life and experiences when I willingly allowed him to. That was a huge relief in and of itself because it meant I could force him out whenever I wanted to. Both of us were spared from responding when a loud knock on the front door announced we had a visitor. Not knowing who would be visiting this early in the morning, I reached for my robe, which was hanging on a hook behind the bathroom door.

  “Please enable me to see again,” Drake announced. “I am curious and slightly ill at ease that we have a visitor.”

  “Okay, I give you permission to see what I see,” I announced out loud as I pulled on my robe and started for the front door. There was another knock on the door, which apparently meant I was taking too long to answer it. “Who is it?” I called out, my hand perched on the doorknob.

  “It’s me,” Ryan called back.

  Hearing his voice caused my entire stomach to sink in on itself, which alerted me to the fact that apparently I still wasn’t over the fact that he and I had a wonderful future ahead of us as friends ... just friends. I pulled open the door and smiled at him as he gazed down at me and grinned in turn.

  “Ah, le barbare. The barbarian,” Drake muttered in my head.

  “I don’t want to hear about it!” I threw back at him. “He’s my friend and if you don’t like it, I’ll just put you on mute again!”

  “I shall bite my tongue. No need to threaten me, ma minette.”

  I didn’t respond but, instead, focused on Ryan who continued to stand in my doorway, looking decidedly nervous or uncomfortable about something. “Ryan, is everything okay?” I asked.

  He nodded and then shook his head, running his hand through his hair as he looked past me and into my living room. “Are you busy, Pey?” he asked, finally returning his gaze to my face. “I, uh, I was hoping we could talk for a few minutes.”

  Confused as to what he wanted to talk about but undeniably curious, I held the door open wider for him and silently thanked my lucky stars that it was a Sunday morning, which meant I had the house to myself rather than a house full of construction workers. “I don’t have any plans this morning so we can talk,” I responded.

  He didn’t say anything but quickly walked inside as I closed the door behind him. When I turned to face him, he was already staring at me and his expression was one of befuddlement as he took in my robe and then my nightgown. “Where did you get that white thing?” he asked, pointing at it and obviously not appreciating it.

  I was about to tell him that Christopher had given it to me but then realized that would mean I’d have to unleash the whole long story about Christopher and Lovie possessing me with Drake’s soul and I couldn’t say I was in the right frame of mind to explain the whole thing. Especially not when it was clearly obvious that Ryan’s visit had everything to do with getting something off his chest. “Oh, around,” I answered evasively before changing the subject. “So, what’s up? You seem like you’ve got the weight of the world on your shoulders.”

  He chuckled as his eyebrows reached for the ceiling and then he sighed. He glanced around himself before returning his gaze to mine. “Is there somewhere we can sit?”

  I smiled because he was more than aware that the only two rooms that were completed in the house were the guest bedroom and bathroom. I just nodded and took the lead down the hallway and into my makeshift bedroom where I took a seat on the bed and he sat just beside me, turning his enormous body so that he was facing me.

  “Okay, so what’s on your mind? Spill the beans!” I said with a laugh as I wondered if this was the point at which he was going to try to talk his way out of finishing the rest of my house. He just had a worried expression that made me fear I wouldn’t like whatever was going to come out of his mouth.

  “I, uh, I’ve been thinking,” he started and glanced down at his lap as he rubbed the back of his head and then brought his eyes back to mine.

  “About?” I prodded, wondering why he was finding it so difficult to just come out with it.

  “About us, Peyton,” he answered almost immediately.

  I felt my stomach drop but then had to remind myself that we’d already had this conversation. “It’s okay, Ryan,” I said with a small smile. “I’m totally okay with us being friends.”

  But he shook his head, which told me he wasn’t talking about the conversation we’d already had. I suddenly felt my stomach drop even further as I realized what this might mean. “Please tell me you still want to be friends?” I asked, hating the thought as it occurred to me.

  “No, I don’t want to be friends,” he answered in a nearly harsh voice before he immediately shook his head. “That’s not what I meant . . .” Then his voice trailed off completely as he paid attention to his knee, which was bobbing up and down as if he were overloaded with nervous energy.

  “Um, what did you mean?” I asked, afraid that he did mean exactly what he’d said but didn’t like t
he way it had sounded so abrasive and was now going to try to soften the blow.

  He sighed and brought his attention back to my face. I suddenly wanted to cry. “Pey, I’ve been doing a lot of thinking since we last talked and I’ve realized that I’m making a mistake.”

  Don’t cry, Pey! I told myself. Please don’t cry!

  “If this barbarian causes you to cry, ma minette, he will answer to me!” Drake responded, reminding me that he was still in my body and my mind.

  “Answer to you?” I demanded, thinking it sounded ridiculous. “Remember, you’re in my body, which means he’ll basically be answering to me!”

  “Ah, très vrai. Very true,” Drake said in apparent realization and then disappeared back into the deep recesses of my mind.

  “A mistake?” I repeated, placing my full attention back on the conversation as I inwardly sighed.

  Ryan nodded and then offered me a genuine smile. “I have to get beyond this grief, Peyton,” he continued. “And I’ll be honest with you, meeting you scared the hell out of me.”

  “But is that a good reason to end our friendship?” I asked, shaking my head against the tears that were already threatening to break their way through.

  “I believe it is a good reason to end our friendship,” Ryan started before taking another deep breath. “Because I want to experience more with you.”

  I felt my eyebrows scrunch up in the middle as he completely derailed my train of thought and I went careening into the side of a mountain. “Wha-what?” I asked, rather eloquently.

  He chuckled and then took my hand in his as he leaned into me. “Peyton, I screwed up. I was afraid of the feelings you were making me feel because I haven’t felt them in such a long time and the idea of loving someone is frightening to me.”

  “Loving someone?” I repeated, my voice sounding ridiculously high.

  But he didn’t seem frightened by the word. “Yes,” he answered succinctly. “Pey, I want this to work out between us.” He waved at me and then himself. “I want us to work out because the idea of my life without you isn’t something I even want to contemplate. And the idea of another man sweeping you up makes me want to punch something.”