So Fell The Sparrow

by Katie Jennings

  Dominic shrugged. “I hit her up when I came out this way again. I never know when you’re going to come around, Jackie. I had to find someone to party with.”

  Alex still looked confused as he turned to Jackie. “Wait, is he the person you’ve been staying with?”

  She winced at the obvious disapproval in his eyes. “He rents a house nearby. I’m only staying there temporarily—”

  “Until you find someone else to leech off,” Aubrey declared with a wry smile.

  Jackie’s cheeks flushed as she glared at the woman who had once been somewhat of a friend. Aubrey had the appearance of a practicing witch and the beliefs to go along with it. While she and Jackie shared a fascination with the supernatural, the kinship ended there. It seemed Aubrey’s jealousy over Jackie’s gift was something the other woman could never get past.

  Ian grimaced at Aubrey, resisting the sudden urge to tell her to take a hike. Friend or not, he wasn’t going to put up with childish bickering. “I get that you two don’t like each other, but all of us need to try and be friends here so that we can help Grace.”

  Grace stared Aubrey down with intense dislike. “Something tells me this isn’t going to work out, anyway.”

  “We will make it work. I’m just surprised, that’s all.” Jackie insisted, not wanting to let her personal problems get in the way of the investigation. From the look on Grace’s face, she wasn’t buying it.

  “You’re surprised that I wanted to see you?” Dominic asked Jackie. He folded his long, tattooed arms over his tattered black T-shirt and shifted his weight, a bit unstable on his feet.

  Jackie knew the reason for his instability, knew he’d sought his crutch before finding the courage to come see her. It was his way. He had always been inherently terrified of the outside world. At least until the substances took the fear and turned it into indifference.

  It was a quality they both shared, though her vices were decidedly less dangerous.

  “I suppose I am.” She let her pity for him soften her anger. “I hope that you are up for what awaits us tonight.”

  Dominic let out a bitter laugh. “I can handle a few ghosts, Jackie. What’re they gonna do? Kill me?”

  Worry darkened her eyes, but she said nothing.

  “Why don’t we go inside and fill you guys in on everything?” Grace interrupted, having had enough drama for the day. She looked at Ian, but he only shrugged. He hadn’t been expecting this confrontation, either.

  Grace sighed and went into the house, Aubrey and Dominic following her with Ian picking up the rear. He shot a look at Alex, silent regret passing between them. If only they had known…

  When the others were inside, Alex turned to Jackie.

  “What’s going on? What is this?”

  “Things you couldn’t possibly understand.” Her shoulders fell as she met his eyes, wanting strength and finding nothing left. Now she knew what the bad omen had been all about. Everything was bound to get more complicated, and fast.

  “Like what?” He reached for her, worry chasing away the worst of his anger.

  She only shook her head and pulled out of his grasp, forcing a smile over her lips. “Come. While there is still a scrap of peace remaining in this house.”

  * * *

  “This Ray guy sounds like a real piece of work.” Aubrey’s face lit with anticipation, the light of the old-fashioned lamp over the dining table glittering in her eyes.

  “Most definitely.” Alex tapped his fingers restlessly on the tabletop, leaning back in his seat. “The emphasis needs to be on getting him out of here. So, whatever you need to do, get it done.”

  “We should perform a cleansing ritual first, of course,” Aubrey began, lifting her cup of coffee to her lips in a dramatic pause. “Then we can do a séance. Speak to Ray, call him out and force him to leave.”

  Jackie inhaled sharply, disapproval tightening her eyes. “A séance is an awful idea, Aubrey, and you know it.”

  “Not really.” Aubrey pouted, looking to the others for encouragement. “It’s the best way to get in direct contact with him. You can use your Spirit Box and your digital recorder all you want, but if you want to talk to him, talk to him through me.”

  “What does that mean, through you?” Grace asked with a skeptical frown.

  “Often, the spirit will communicate through a vessel, through a medium. I will direct him to enter my body and use me to speak.”

  Grace couldn’t help but laugh. “How do we know you won’t just fake it and make it all up for kicks?”

  Aubrey glared at her. “Because I have integrity. Just ask Ian and Alex. They will vouch for my abilities.”

  Grace pressed her lips together to hold back another laugh as she glanced at Ian. He sat beside her, arms crossed and stony faced, impossible to read. Alex, on the other hand, looked conflicted, eyes darting back and forth between Jackie and Aubrey.

  “A séance will only intensify Ray’s hold on the house. Not to mention we risk opening ourselves up to even more spirits, possibly bad ones.” Jackie’s brow furrowed with frustration, her hands tightening over her cup of tea. “A cleansing ritual is crucial. If all of us participate, then we can weaken him. Then, if we dig up the body in the basement, we should be able to remove Mercy, and hopefully Ray, from the house.”

  Grace rolled her eyes. “Not the body thing again…”

  “Disturbing the grave is the absolute wrong thing to do.” Aubrey cut in, eyes on fire. “Don’t you know anything?”

  Jackie flushed. “I know what I see. The darkest energy is centered on that body. Most likely, it’s the catalyst that’s making the energy so powerful.”

  “Then we should dig it up,” Alex decided, his hand finding Jackie’s knee under the table with a comforting squeeze.

  Ian didn’t look as convinced. “I’m leaning toward doing the séance before we discuss digging up the grave.”

  Grace turned to him in frustration. “Jackie says the séance will make it worse. I thought the goal here was to make things better?”

  “Look, I can see that as a possibility. However, if we’re going to do this right, I feel we need to tackle it head on.”

  “Ian likes to take the aggressive approach,” Alex confirmed with a nod, though he felt uneasy about the whole thing. “But this time it may be too much, man.”

  Ian looked at him, eyes bright with a sudden rush of adrenaline. “If we set up our cameras down there and break out the infrared equipment, the full spectrum camera, the Spirit Box, imagine what evidence we could capture during a séance like this. When we know that there’s dark energy down there and spirits that want to communicate with us. They reacted to our provocation before, I think it’s the way to go now.”

  Alex tried to fight back the instinctual thrill he felt just thinking about the potential evidence, knowing that beside him, Jackie was feeling increasingly outnumbered. “Maybe we shouldn’t rush this. Let’s do the cleansing ritual and wait a day or two and see if it helps. Then we can discuss whether to dig up the body or do a séance.”

  “I can’t wait around that long. I have a life, you know,” Aubrey interrupted, finishing off the last of her coffee and rising to her feet. She planted her hands upon the table, the light glinting off the many silver rings she wore on her fingers. “In my professional opinion, we need to do a séance. If you don’t wish to follow my advice, then fine. I’ll go home. But if you do, then let me know. I’ll be outside getting my things for the cleansing ritual.”

  She tapped Dominic on the shoulder and the two of them sauntered out of the house. Once the door shut behind them, Grace immediately turned to Jackie.

  “Tell me honestly. Is this a bad idea?”

  Jackie could barely restrain her anger as she pushed out of the chair, immediately going to the old grandfather clock. She stared at it closely, her fingers reaching up to trace over the damage that had occurred to its previously stunning surface. There was corrosion inside the clock face, rotting away at the gold-plated cloc
k hands and turning them blue.

  The spirits had done this. They had festered inside the antiques, preserving furniture that had been destroyed a hundred years earlier. If their energy had been strong enough to salvage what was brutally damaged, just what power would they hold if given the chance to strike back?

  She had to admit the very thought terrified her. Yet, once again, she was helpless to stop it.

  “A séance has the potential to be dangerous. Nothing is guaranteed…but it may work.” Jackie turned to face the others, her features calm and composed. She smiled reassuringly. “Now, do you have a broom?”

  * * *

  They spent the next hour performing the cleansing ritual as night fell. Alex followed Jackie with his camcorder, capturing every graceful movement she made as she went through the timeless motions that had been carried out for centuries.

  She held a smudge stick made of white sage, lit to burn like incense. Beginning at the front door of the house, she lifted the dried herbs up and into a clockwise circle. The trail of smoke left a sweet aroma that filled her with peace.

  As she spoke, her eyes closed and she put all her faith into the words, knowing they were strongest when she believed in them. “May only those of positive energy be welcome into this home.” She moved to the right and into the kitchen, circling the window and drawing bars with the smoke to keep out the negative spirits. “May nothing and no one be allowed to enter.”

  Alex followed her silently, watching as she sprinkled salt from a small pouch in her pocket into the corners of the living room and near the deteriorating furniture. She moved to the living room windows and followed the same routine, the smoke of the burning sage gathering around her like a white cloud. She spilled more salt upon the window sills and along the floor in front of the back doorway.

  “Do you see them around us right now?” he asked, taking a quick glance around the room as if he might see them too.

  Jackie breathed evenly, focusing her energy as she waved the smudge stick over the back door. “They’re agitated. They don’t like what we’re doing.”

  “I bet.”

  She closed her eyes as she faced him, focused her mind, then opened them again. She scanned the living room, searching the ceiling, the walls, the floor. The dark stain was still there, but it was retreating like the tentacles of a threatened octopus. It recoiled from the salt and smoke, as though nervous. On edge.

  Pleasure rushed through her. It was working, at least a little.

  A quirk of a smile teased her lips. “We still have much to do, but it is helping.”

  “Good.” Alex shut off the camcorder and set it aside on the coffee table. Without a word, he dragged her against him for a fast, demanding kiss.

  A thrill shot through her as she leaned into him, her mouth just as greedy as his. Just as questioning, as searching. Her mind went blissfully blank and she praised God for it.

  Alex broke away and held her close, a fire burning within him. His chin rested on top of her head and he breathed in the scent of sage and sandalwood he’d come to know as her. “I want you to come stay with me at the hotel. Ian’s staying here with Grace now, so it’ll just be us.”

  Jackie winced, the wings of her freedom flapping restlessly. She tilted her head back to meet his eyes, and slowly shook her head. “I can’t do that, Alex.”

  “Why not?” He eased back, keeping his hands on her shoulders.

  She chewed on her lower lip, trying to decide how to explain it. How to break it to him in a way that wouldn’t crush him. Either way, she knew he would end up hurt. She had known that from the start…

  “We’re having fun, aren’t we?” She reached up to touch his cheek, a sad smile curving her lips. When he nodded, the smile deepened. “Then let’s not complicate it.”

  He sensed she was fighting some kind of demon she wouldn’t share with him, some dark stain on her past that she kept hidden deep inside. Eventually, he would get it out of her, or at least rid her of its binding grip.

  Until that day, he would settle for what she was willing to give. As little as it may be.

  “Okay.”

  She watched a playful grin brighten his face and her heart slowly cracked at the edges in a way it never had before.

  * * *

  Upstairs, Ian had his camcorder focused on Aubrey. The collection of silver trinkets around her neck and wrists rattled together as she moved her arms. Her length of auburn hair fell in curls to her waist, her bright blue eyes determined and empowered.

  He knew his viewers would get a kick out of seeing a real live witch performing a ritual. Especially since Aubrey was dedicated enough to look every bit the witch she claimed to be.

  “I cast thee out seekers of evil. Be gone with you now,” she commanded, her voice loud and forceful. In her hands was a smudge stick identical to Jackie’s, also lit, and she waved it in the air near the windows and corners of the room. “Let the cleansing aroma repel you. Only the light can reside here.”

  Ian followed her as she moved around the room, retreating to continue her clockwise progression through the upstairs. It would all end at the stairwell, where she would urge the negative energy right down the stairs and out the front door.

  As they exited into the hallway, Ian nearly bumped backward into Grace.

  “Watch it, Doc.” His smile was quick and devious as he winked at her.

  Her eyes narrowed. “You’re the one who backed into me.”

  “Make sure you get every corner with that broom. Otherwise, you won’t get all the negative energy and you’ll get a failing grade.”

  The broom she held nearly made contact with his head before he ducked out of the way. He laughed and chased after Aubrey to continue filming in one of the other bedrooms.

  This left Grace alone with Dominic, who had also been assigned to sweep duty. “I vote we declare mutiny and redefine the words ‘sweep duty’ to include shoving a broom where the sun don’t shine,” Grace muttered, earning an appreciative snicker from Dominic.

  “That’s not a nice thing to say about your boyfriend.”

  “Who the hell says he’s my boyfriend?” she shot back, clutching the broom handle so tight her knuckles went white.

  His shoulders lifted and fell impassively. “He’s made it very clear that you are off limits.”

  “Is that right?”

  “Yep.”

  Taken aback, Grace turned away and continued sweeping the hallway. She grumbled under her breath about men and possessiveness and caveman syndrome. But inside, her heart was fluttering like an excited bird.

  She didn’t know why it mattered, but it did. Ian mattered, so, therefore, his getting protective meant he thought she mattered, too.

  God knew it had been too long since someone had cared enough about her to get jealous. With Rick, it had all been his own selfish pride. He’d wanted her back only because she had left him. His pride had been wounded, and like any man, he couldn’t stand walking around knowing that he had been dumped.

  Grace wasn’t the kind of woman who accepted the excuses of an affair. Despite all his psychobabble analysis of her and her “tendencies,” he had been dead wrong on that one. The thought alone brought a vindictive sort of joy to her heart that helped heal that last, lingering wound. Chapter closed, match set. She was over him. And Ian was next up to bat.

  She carried that thought with her as she finished sweeping out the negative energy of the house with Dominic, ending at the front door. They brushed the air symbolically, sending whatever bad vibes had plagued the house right out with it.

  And despite how stupid of a ritual she thought it was, it made her feel a whole lot better.

  Outside, a light rain began to fall.

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  The basement was as dark and musty as ever, yet there was an electricity to the air that Ian couldn’t explain. It was simply the anomaly he always attributed to ghosts. He could almost hear it fizzling and crackling, dangerous as a live wire. The hairs on the
back of his neck stood at attention, obedient to the chills that marched down his spine.

  He couldn’t deny that there were highly active spirits in the house. That had been established many times over. The séance could further prove their existence, not to mention make for damn interesting footage for Great American Paranormal.

  Not only was he helping Grace, but this entire investigation was yielding some unprecedented evidence. He couldn’t wait to compile it all together and get it out there. GAP was already one of the most highly respected paranormal teams in the country, but this could take them to the top.

  First, though, he needed to focus on helping the woman he had once despised, then put up with, then cared for, and now…well, cared for was enough. He wasn’t ready for more than that just yet, nor was she.

  After the investigation was done and her house was saved, maybe he’d give it some thought. Until then, there were ghosts to hunt.

  Hours earlier, Alex had set up static night vision cameras in each corner of the basement. He had also put in place a full spectrum camera to detect ultraviolet light, aimed directly at the dining table and chairs they’d dragged downstairs, with the staircase in the background. They hoped to capture shifting variations in brightly colored light which could indicate the presence of a spirit. With the activity the way it was in the house, Ian had no doubt they’d at least get something.

  He walked down the last step into the basement, irritated that Aubrey insisted he leave his Mel Meter and Spirit Box behind. She claimed the devices weren’t needed to communicate with the dead, not during a séance. Not when she had every intention of letting Ray speak through her.

  Behind him, Alex followed with his infrared camera around his neck. With it, he’d be able to snap photographs before and after the séance that could capture hot and cold spots, maybe even in human form.

  Ian walked to the table and reached into his pocket for his digital recorder. He flipped it on and set it in the middle of the table to capture any EVPs, just in case.

  “We haven’t even started yet and I can feel the energy.” Alex snapped off a few pictures with the camera he held.