The look on his face ripped my heart out, but he still had control, and I had to shatter that.
“I said I was sorry.”
“Sorry, what? That you didn’t get to finish the job?” I lifted my shirt. “Maybe if I’d have waited, you could have kicked me in the ribs some more. You might have gotten lucky and it would have stabbed me in the heart and killed me.”
“I never wanted that!”
“Oh, but you wanted something? Maybe Gideon was only channeling your hatred of me. Maybe the two of you are more alike than I thought.” When his gaze narrowed, I knew the breaking point was one comment away, and I’d been saving this for last. “Maybe the fact that you didn’t fight back was because you wanted to kill me, Carter, and Samantha. Is that it? You told me Gideon whispered dark things to you, but maybe the reason he came to you was because you already had the darkness inside you.”
When his eyes shifted from brown to blue, I knew he’d snapped. He lashed out, striking me across the face. I stumbled back but didn’t fall.
“You didn’t believe me when I told you he hated you. His rage is a thing of beauty. There’s so much strength in this body, and I’m going to be able to do incredible things with it.”
He swung at my head, but I dodged the blow.
Remember way back when I asked what memory stuck most in your mind? Well, this would be mine now. The day my lover tried to kill me.
“What’s the matter, Scotty? I thought you enjoyed this body?”
“I did, but right now it seems a bit too crowded for me.”
He chuckled, but there was no mirth. “Don’t worry. Thanks to you, soon Tim will be gone. Even now I’m pushing him down, preparing this body to become mine. In the hundreds of years I’ve been moving from person to person, this is the body I find most to my liking. I’d never thought having a lock’s body would be so… intoxicating.”
“Don’t get used to it. You won’t be staying.”
“Once you’re dead, any fight Tim might have had will be snuffed out. The only pity will be that you can’t see him as he loses his fight.”
I stood, feet planted firmly. “Tim won’t ever give up. That’s not the kind of man he is. Even angry, he’s going to fight for me.”
“Oh, I learned from our last encounter. He might prevent me from killing you, but that won’t stop me from using his body to beat you until you wish you were dead.”
You know how in books you get to the point where you suddenly yell “plot twist”? Yeah, that was this moment for me. I hadn’t counted on that at all. Here I thought I was all smart and everything, and come to find out the phrase “too stupid to live” was invented for people like me.
He lunged for me, and I barely ducked under his arm.
“Tim, you need to come back. I love you, remember that.”
“He doesn’t believe you. All those things you said? They’ve been weighing on his mind for years. But when you said there was already darkness inside of him, that shocked him, because he’d doubted in the past, but you confirmed it for him.”
He shoved the table, causing it to crash into the cabinet. No longer having something between us, I figured discretion was the better part of valor and ran like the hounds of hell were on my heels. If I was honest, I would have preferred the hounds. I rushed up the stairs and into the guests’ bathroom, slamming the door behind me. He was there, pounding on it, pushing, trying to get inside. I reached into my pocket and fumbled for my phone.
“No one is going to be able to help you, Scotty. By all means, invite them. Even if I can’t kill you, I won’t have any problem with them. Imagine what that’ll do to Tim.”
I sucked in a breath. He was right. I couldn’t involve anyone else. This was my fight. I started it, and one way or another, I’d have to finish it.
“It’s not you, Tim. It was never you. There’s darkness in all of us. When I drugged myself into a stupor? That was my darkness. Wanna know why? Because I kept thinking how easy it would be if I just took another pill or two. Slipping into death would have been a lot easier than dying at the bottom of a crappy quarry. And I knew that you’d never be able to follow me then. Want to know the real reason I left? Because you were the bright spot in my life, and I was always afraid that my darkness would snuff out your light. What Gideon is doing to you? It’s what I was terrified I’d do.”
The pounding stopped. “Scott?”
My heart hammered. “Tim? You okay?”
“Yeah. You brought me back. Let me in.”
I snorted. “I’m not the clueless coed or the big jock who’s always the first to die in the horror movies.”
He slammed the door, making the frame shake. “Let me in!”
I crossed my fingers. I didn’t have many chances left to pull out a win here. “Nah, I don’t think so. Tim couldn’t kill me. If I’m honest, I wasn’t afraid of him. It was you, Gideon. That night you grabbed my throat? Scared me shitless. I was afraid you’d kill me right then and there.”
The pressure on the door eased, but I kept pushing back, because no way would I let him catch me unaware.
“I… I touched you. Choked you. I didn’t need a body for it.”
“I never knew a ghost could touch someone like that.”
There was a thump in the hallway. “I want his body, but he won’t kill you. If I do it myself, he’ll grieve so hard, I can take over easily.”
An apparition slid through the door, and for the first time, I got a look at the real Gideon Allerton. He was an average man in every way. Completely unremarkable, with his brown hair and brown eyes. He was chunky, bespectacled, and, if I had to put a name to it, a nerd.
“Wow. I’d worked you up in my head to be this big, strong man who struck fear into the hearts of kids. It’s no wonder you had to lull them into a false sense of security, because no one would ever feel threatened by you.”
Gideon sneered. “That’s what Martha said to me too. I wasn’t enough for her. She wanted the fucking farm boy with his big muscles. He didn’t have a brain in his head, but she preferred that over me. When they married and she bore his son, I saw my chance to get even with the both of them. One night, after harvest, when I knew he’d be exhausted, I snuck into their house and slit his throat. You don’t know the thrill I got when his eyes opened and he tried to speak, but all that came out of his mouth was blood.”
I scrabbled to my feet and tried to open the door, but he was on me before I could do anything. He locked his hands around my throat and began to squeeze.
“Then I found her in the baby’s room. Her eyes went wide when she recognized me. She clutched the baby to her, but that didn’t stop me. I ripped him away and threw the squalling brat aside, then stabbed her until my knife broke. The room was drenched in her blood, but it still wasn’t enough. The baby, which should have been ours, was screaming. I stood over it, and it looked up at me with such absolute trust. I knelt down and picked him up. He smiled at me. And in that moment, I knew with crystal clarity what I had to do. I laid him down in the crib and proceeded to choke the life from him. Just like I’m going to do to you.”
“Scotty!”
There was never a sweeter sound than Tim’s voice from the other side of the door.
He started pushing, and I tried to let him in, but Gideon kept me pinned.
Gideon leaned in close and whispered in my ear. “What do you think will happen when he finds your broken body? His despair will allow me to finally get what I want. A strong body that will be capable of so many things.”
His fingers tightened even more, and spots appeared in my field of vision. He was right, and I knew it. If I died, it would crush Tim, and Gideon would have his body. Even if I died, I couldn’t let him have Tim.
With my strength waning, I put my feet against the door and pushed back as hard as I could. It wasn’t much but enough to move us away from the door, which burst open.
Tim stood there, huffing like a bull. “Get the fuck away from him.”
Ins
tead of answering, Gideon squeezed harder. “He’s going to die, and then you’ll be mine.”
Tim reached out and grabbed Gideon, which apparently shocked him, because he let go of me. I slumped to the floor, harsh coughs wracking my body.
“No, this isn’t possible!”
I could see Tim’s sneer, and even I was afraid. “He’s my key. It’s up to me to protect him, guide him, and even though he’s an idiot, to love him.” He slammed Gideon against the wall.
“No, let me go!”
“Not happening. You killed Alexander and so many others. You tried to kill Scott. You’re not getting away from me.”
It was then that I noticed the fear on Gideon’s face. He was terrified of Tim. Or was it me?
I struggled to stand, my legs having less consistency than Jell-O. “What are you afraid of, Gideon?” When I reached for him, he flinched. “Is it Tim? Me? Or maybe it’s what the two of us can do.” As Gideon struggled, I knew it was now or never. I got in as close as I could and glared at him. “I had a thought while I was in the shower earlier. If spirits could contact us, shouldn’t we be able to call to them too? All those people you killed…. How many do you think are still here, waiting for their turn to be helped?”
“No, stop!”
Instead of answering, I reached out and slammed my hands against his face. As before, my mind was flooded with images. Pleading, dying children. Only this time I refused to pull away. “He hurt you, I know. I can sense you all out there, crying out for justice. Come to us now. Help us put an end to him.”
And they answered. A sound like a million tiny voices began to fill the small bathroom as ghosts of children of every race, creed, and color materialized, their focus locked on Gideon.
“You’ve all waited far too long for this moment, and I’m sorry for that. But we’re here now, and we want to help you move on.”
Gideon shrieked as tiny hands grabbed for him. “No, no! Don’t let them touch me!”
Tim scowled. “You made them trust you, love you, and then you killed them. Is there a worse betrayal than to tear away a child’s hope? Whatever they do to you, it’s not enough.”
Tim grabbed me and pulled me away as the children swarmed over Gideon, who disappeared, still screaming, beneath the ghostly mass. Everything went—pardon the expression—dead silent, but then the ghosts receded.
One of them, a young girl, came over to me and took my hands in hers. Surprisingly, this time I didn’t see her death. Instead, I saw a scene from long ago, with her laughing as she played with a woman and a younger girl.
“That’s my sister, Myra, and our mom.”
“They’re beautiful.” I knelt down so we were at eye level. “What’s your name?”
“Chrissy.”
“That’s a pretty name.”
She smiled at me. “I like yours too.” She glanced over her shoulder. “We’re not sure what to do.”
“What do you mean?”
She turned back toward me. “He hurt us, but….” She frowned. “We don’t want to hurt anyone. We just want to be with our families.”
Her tiny voice humbled me. “Then you should go ahead and find your mom and sister. I’m sure they miss you very much.”
She jutted out her lower lip. “We’ve been trying to find home, but none of us know where it is.”
Okay, that I could help with. I put a hand on her shoulder and whispered, “Can you see it now?”
Her eyes went wide. “Oh yes! And I can see Mommy. She sees me and is calling for me to come home.” Tears stained her cheeks. “But what about everyone else?”
“You go on to your mom and let us take care of them, okay?”
She bit her lip and nodded. “Thank you.”
When she threw her arms around me, I felt a warmth that no other could duplicate.
“Chrissy, tell your mom and sister I think they’re very lucky to have a sweet girl like you in their lives.”
She giggled, a sound so sweet and pure, then turned and looked at something in the distance. “I’m coming, Mommy!” And with those words, she faded from sight, the echo of her childish laughter the only proof she’d ever been there.
“What are you going to do?”
I sucked in a breath. I knew Tim was going to object, but I couldn’t—wouldn’t—leave these kids to suffer one more minute. “I’m going to help them.”
He reached for my hand. “Then we’re going to help them together.”
One by one they came to me, told me who they were, and I opened a gateway for them to step through. As the crowd thinned, I saw Gideon, his eyes wide in terror. My stomach churned, because I had not one fuck to give for him. My only goal was to free the kids who he stole the life from.
At the halfway point, I started to wobble, but Tim was there, propping me up. He leaned in close and whispered in my ear, “I’m your lock. Draw strength from me.”
And though I had no idea how, I did feel stronger.
When we had finally released them all, Gideon still lay on the ground.
Tim rose to his feet and picked me up. He carried me out of the bathroom and into the hall, where he set me down against the wall. He leaned in and kissed my forehead. “You’re going to want to stay here.”
I grabbed his arm before he could walk away. “What are you going to do?”
He cast a glance toward the door. “What I have to.”
There was no strength left in me to stop him.
He strode into the bathroom and closed the door behind him. An oppressive silence fell before it was shattered by a scream unlike any I’d ever heard before. I tried to stand, but my body wasn’t having it.
Fear coursed through me when it went quiet again. “Tim?”
The door opened slowly, and he stepped out, his face pale. “You okay?”
“Me? What about you? What was that scream?”
He smiled, but it wasn’t his usual one. His lip quivered and his eyes were filled with sadness. “Can we just say he’s never going to bother anyone again?”
“Did you…. Did you kill him?”
He came over and slumped down next to me. “He was a ghost. Can I really kill him?”
I opened my mouth to say something, but he took my hand and squeezed it.
“Let’s just say I did what I was supposed to do and leave it at that.”
There were so many questions I wanted to ask, but he was entitled to keep this secret until he saw fit to share with me.
“I’m sorry I scared you.”
A nervous chuckle escaped me. “I’m glad you’re still talking to me.”
“Yeah, you were pretty harsh. I get why, but…. Well, just so you know, you’re going to owe me some more years.”
I frowned at him. “How many more are we talking about?”
“As Buzz Lightyear said, ‘To infinity and beyond!’ Are you okay with that?”
Honestly? I didn’t even have to think it through. “More than okay.” I put my head on his shoulder. “Still not calling you ‘sir,’ though.”
He kissed my hair, then sagged against me. “I can live with that.”
Both of us were so exhausted, we fell asleep on the hall floor, with Tim wrapped around me like he always did.
If this was what I had in store for the rest of eternity, I was okay with that.
Epilogue
FOR THE next month, Tim didn’t let me out of his sight. He fussed over me, and though I said I didn’t like it, I enjoyed being cared for by him. He called Rachel and told her she was in charge of the store and that she would have to hire someone to help her out because I couldn’t be trusted on my own. Rachel didn’t seem to mind, especially after he explained what happened with Gideon.
My mom and Ryan went apoplectic when they heard the whole story. Mom demanded I give up being the key, but Tim told her neither of us had a choice in the matter. It was our destiny to be together, fighting the good fight, for as long as we could. Ryan hugged me and said how proud he was, even if he still tho
ught I was a bit of a freak. I could live with that.
Karen…. Ugh. She’d seen Tim with his hands on her child, and despite Ryan explaining things to her and me swearing that it was all true, was leery around us for a while. She refused to allow Tim to be alone with the kids, and when I started to protest, Tim stilled me and told her he understood. Ryan promised he would talk with her, and Rachel and Gavin went to see her as well. After she heard about Burton, she loosened up a little, and we hoped that with time she’d let Tim visit with his godchildren again.
Having Tim insist on downtime while I healed wasn’t so bad. Tim and I put to rest a lot of the demons that haunted us. He relaxed a little—okay, very little—and smiled more, but the weight of the bad decisions we’d both made when we were younger was gone. He was still a bossy, demanding, arrogant prick, but he was my bossy, demanding, and arrogant prick.
The one thing he did allow—which he reminded me of constantly—was the two of us working with George. He’s been helping us get a handle on our abilities. The stronger and more confident Tim became with his role, the easier my life was. Ghosts no longer came directly to me. They went to Tim and asked for an audience. Depending on how I was feeling, he would let them in or tell them they’d have to come back.
No one ever complained.
It was weird, both of us being treated like royalty. Most spirits were relieved when Tim allowed them to see me. Many seemed afraid and had to be coaxed to come forward. I had no idea why, and when I asked, they wouldn’t say. Either way, we helped them as best we could, and in the end, they went off to their final rest.
Well into our second month, I had finally had enough of staying at home. I told Tim I had something that had to be done and he needed to go with me to do it.
“I love how you’re including me in this.”
It was an effort not to roll my eyes, but I think I pulled it off.
“And for rolling your eyes at me, your ass is mine when we get home.”
Okay, so maybe it wasn’t so successful. “You say that like it’s a hardship.”
He took my hand, pulled it to his crotch, and with a saucy wink, he said, “This is a hardship.”
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