Rosemary's Ghosts (Tess Schafer-Medium)

by Deborah J. Hughes

  Finally I turned back to her. She was crocheting again, looking as if nothing was wrong. "Rosemary, we cannot stay here."

  She sighed in the same manner one does when dealing with a difficult child. "Why not?"

  "Because ... because Cain knows I'm here and this is his territory!" Though that just came to me, the truth of it really hit me hard and I had to press a hand to my stomach to still the fluttering of panic stirring havoc there.

  "Cain? Who is Cain?"

  "He's evil, Rosemary. I vanquished him from my home and sent him here and now he knows I'm in his territory. It's not going to be safe here!"

  Rosemary considered my declaration and then shook her head. "You said yourself that nothing can hurt me here."

  "That was before I knew what was going on."

  "And what is going on?"

  "You are dead and stuck here. I've come to help you understand that you don't have to stay here and once I've accomplished that, I can get back to my life." But the look on her face told me I was not going to be successful anytime soon. As I worried over that statement, a stabbing pain sliced through my head. I had to suck in a breath to keep from crying out and pressed my hands to my temples. "We can't stay here!"

  Rosemary finished her doily and held it up for my inspection. In the real world, I'd have snatched it up, thrilled to have a crocheted pentagram but here in Rosemary's corner of hell, I had no desire to touch it.

  "Lovely. Now can we go?"

  Rosemary laughed and set her crochet needle aside. "How about some more tea?"

  She didn't make it out of the chair because it suddenly went sliding across the floor picking up speed as it went. As soon as it cleared the sofa, it stopped and turned toward the kitchen. A slight pause and then it sped across the floor so fast Rosemary's head jerked backwards. Just before she crossed the threshold into the kitchen, however, the chair stopped suddenly sending Rosemary flying out of it and landing flat on the floor.

  Astonishment kept me rooted to my seat but as soon as Rosemary passed the sofa I jump up and watched in horror as she went flying out of her seat.

  "Rosemary!" I managed about two steps in her direction before my feet became glued to the floor and try as I might, I couldn't pry them loose. "Rosemary, are you okay?"

  Pushing up to her knees, Rosemary groaned and started to say something but her words were cut short as her body jerked, slamming her onto her back. Then she went sliding feet first across the floor, twisting and turning, clawing for a hold. But nothing hindered her progress. Seeing it, all I could think about was my own slide through darkness in much the same manner.

  "Tess! Help me!"

  Though I could move my body, I could not get my feet to budge and I watched helplessly as Rosemary headed for the closed door. I thought for sure she'd crash into it but her feet slid through the wood panel as if it was nothing more than a mirage. Which of course it was if you considered that we were now in spirit. But until this moment all the objects we encountered appeared solid.

  Rosemary's expression was one of horror and fear as her eyes met mine, her arms stretched out to me. "Tess, help me!"

  But I still couldn't get my feet to move. All I could do was watch as her body continued to slide from view. The illusion was so bizarre that I could only stare in horrified fascination. But concern for what would happen to her once she went completely through the door made me renew my struggle to get to her. I reached down and pushed off my shoes then hurried to grab Rosemary's hands. She was now up to her neck. Though I didn't hold much hope of stopping her from disappearing completely, I clung tightly to her hands, digging in my heels and pulling for all I was worth. But as I suspected, I could not stop Rosemary from slipping further through the door. When her chin made it to the wood...which still appeared quite solid...she screamed to me in her fear.

  "Tess! Get Grace! Tell her I'll ..." and that was all she managed to get out before her head disappeared from sight.

  With nothing left showing but her arms, I held fast to her hands glad to find them still clinging to mine. As our entwined hands neared the door panel, I wondered if I would get sucked in along with her but knew it didn't matter. I wasn't going to let her go.

  Prepared for the worst, I held Rosemary tight but when I reached the door panel, my hands mashed against the solid wood. Though Rosemary tried to maintain her hold she soon slipped from my grasp and was gone.

  As soon as my hands were free I stood and pulled the door open. The porch was empty and Rosemary was nowhere in sight.

  Chapter 11

  "Rosemary?" Silence. Even the lake was calm. Eye of the storm. That's all I could think as I stepped out of the cabin and into chaos.

  The world literally fell away until there was nothing left but me and the porch. Not a smidgeon of light to be seen and yet I had no trouble seeing either myself or the porch under me. My heart pounded hard, its beat loud and erratic in my ears.

  "Step off the porch, Tess."

  I didn't recognize the voice and it wouldn't have mattered if I did. I was not stepping anywhere. In another dimension my body was lying on this porch and I wasn't leaving it. "Where is Rosemary?"

  "I've come for her just as she feared. She's mine now."

  Though the voice was deep, it wasn't unpleasant. Even so, it sent shivers along my spine. Warning shivers. "Give her back to me."

  "She had her chance. She's mine now."

  Uncertainty bloomed. I didn't believe in the devil per se. I believed Satan was a concept and yet I had the very distinct feeling, a gut-wrenching one, that I was speaking to that very entity.

  "Okay, Tess. Get the light in place." Now was the time to be my own cheerleader. Sheila would not come here. I was on my own.

  Though I knew at any moment the voice speaking to me was going to pull some sort of nasty trick, I closed my eyes and envisioned myself lit up as bright as the noonday sun. Light bulbs just weren't going to cut it. I needed some mega wattage here.

  The laugh that followed was so loud it nearly knocked me off my small bit of acreage. I tottered precariously then told myself to stop flailing. It wasn't like I was really standing here. "It's all in your head, Tess."

  "No it's not. You are in spirit and if you want Rosemary, you have to come get her."

  "I'm not going anywhere."

  "Are you afraid?"

  Yes! "Not of you."

  "Then step off the porch."

  Damned if I do and damned if I don't. It was one hell of a quandary ... in every sense.

  "You came to save her."

  That was Mike. His voice helped me relax. If he was here, then I wasn't alone. "Tell me what to do, Mike."

  "I stopped doing that the day I died, Tess."

  I scrubbed a hand over my face, thinking hard and fast. Time was not a luxury I had much of. Not physically anyway. If I didn't hurry up and do something, we were both going to be lost in this hell hole and God only knew how long we'd be stuck here. And I honestly wasn't ready to die.

  "The decision is yours to make."

  That helped a lot. "Thanks, Mike." And I stepped off the porch.

  Chapter 12

  As soon as I put my foot down, it landed on grass and suddenly everything was back to normal, looking just like it did the day I landed my kayak and began this nightmare. The lake was choppy now and a cool breeze was blowing. My skin chilled instantly and not for the first time, I wondered why I neglected to bring a windbreaker. I knew how fast Maine weather could change and yet I ignored such knowledge to land myself in this predicament. I didn't let anyone know where I was going, I didn't tell Kade where I was (if I even really talked to him which I still believed, despite everything, that I had). I didn't dress appropriately (though to be fair, how was I to know I was headed for a trip to hell and that it would be cold?) and I sure as heck didn't keep my psychic awareness on high alert.

  "Where is my mother?"

  Grace's voice startled me and I swung around to find her standing on the porch. "Grace!"


  Her pretty blue eyes narrowing to slits, Grace folded her arms and waited for me to answer her.

  "I don't know." And now that I had my bearings back, I took another look around. Did Cain take her away to yet another dimension? I just wasn't sure how things worked here.

  "Where were you? I've been calling and calling. I thought you both might have left the island."

  "And go where exactly, Grace?" Annoyed with her annoyance, especially after everything I'd been through and had yet to face, I wasn't quite in the mood to put up with a ghost that hadn't proved herself helpful in any way.

  Grace considered my question and then the spunk went out of her. She heaved a sigh and came down the porch steps to join me. "She has to be here."

  "Is it possible for another entity to come and take her away?"

  "Not against her will."

  "Then she must be here." I was pretty certain Rosemary hadn't changed her mind about leaving. Especially not with whomever it was that dragged her through a door!

  "I think I know where she is." Grace turned and headed for the back of the cabin.

  Of course. I should have thought of it myself. After conducting a quick scan to see if I could detect any other presence, I hurried after Grace who had already disappeared from sight. I didn't see anything but I felt them. We were being watched and no doubt had been since before I even landed on the island. One way or another, I was led to this place. Now to find my way back out of it.

  As soon as the rise behind the cabin was in my sight, I saw Rosemary kneeling before the rosebush. I couldn't see her face but her head was bowed and there was a defeated look about her posture. Grace stood next to her looking hopeless. She turned to urge me on a little faster.

  "Will you please tell her that she deserves to be with me? I can't stay long. We've no time to spare."

  Now what did that mean?

  Deciding it best to ignore Grace for the moment, I knelt next to Rosemary. Her eyes stared in blank transfixion at the ground before her and I knew we were fast losing her. If she sank deeper into her self-imposed illusion, I was pretty sure Grace and I would not be able to follow her.

  "Are you okay, Rosemary? I'm so sorry I couldn't hold onto you. I did try." She didn't acknowledge me so I put an arm around her. Her skin was cold to the touch. Like touching a corpse and I shivered at the idea of it. Rosemary was not a corpse anymore. Her body was long gone. "Listen to me ... you don't deserve to be unhappy. Not anymore. You've paid your dues." When she didn't react, I gave her a gentle shake. "Rosemary! I came here for you. You think I like it here? But you are worth it. That has to mean something."

  A tear slid down Rosemary's pale cheek and I rested my head against her. "Oh, Rosemary. Life is a struggle for so many of us. We all experience a crapload of shit from time to time. But that doesn't mean we deserve it. Our personal growth is often fastest after coming through a trauma or difficulty. You've had more than your fair share. It's time to be nice to yourself. Let us love you, Rosemary. Love yourself again."

  More tears fell. Finally she turned her head until we were forehead to forehead. "How can I possibly love someone like me?"

  "What's so bad about you, Rosemary? You've been nothing but kind to me since I landed on your island. You experienced joy with your mother, your daughter and with your grandparents. I bet if you let the memories in, there were others that benefited from knowing you as well."

  "But Grace..."

  "Did what I had to do, Mama!" Grace knelt next to her mother and touched her arm. "Dad was going to hurt me. You stopped it, Mama. You stopped it and the only way to stop him was to end the miserable life he created for himself. You think he wanted to stay in that mess? It was getting worse and worse!" Grace touched her mother's cheek. "He couldn't break the circle of abuse. I saw him crying sometimes, Mama. He couldn't stop and he didn't want to go on."

  "Your daughter is not saying that it's okay to kill those who are abusive, but at the time, the abuse got to the point that someone was going to die and it happened to be him." I nudged Rosemary into her daughter's arms. "He's got a lot to learn and a lot to make up for. You've done your time, Rosemary. Now go with Grace and be happy, even if for just a little while."

  Grace frowned at me over her mother's head. "What does that mean?"

  "She'll probably end up going back again, Grace. She wants to get it right. To live a life where she makes more positive choices for herself and for those she will go through her next life journey with."

  Since Grace was now holding her mother's trembling body, I rubbed her back gently. Touch was so important in helping one build their energy. Gentle, loving touches created positive reinforcement and Rosemary needed as much of it as we could give her. "You go back only when you are ready. In the meantime, you get to enjoy Grace's company. And everyone else you love too."

  Rosemary lifted her head from her daughter's shoulder. "Like who?"

  "She lies. But it matters not to me what you've done, Rosemary."

  The soft spoken words behind us made me cringe and the skin on my back shrunk from his nearness. I swung around to find Cain standing a few feet away. Tall and thin with the planes of his face at sharp angles, one knew upon seeing him that he was bad news. Even in death he looked the same: black eyes, black hair and a tanned complexion that was complimented by the black clothing he wore. Which was a suit of sorts though the coat was longer than any I'd ever seen before.

  Squaring up my shoulders and preparing to fight, I met his disturbing eyes with a narrowed gaze. His turf or not, I would not cower from him.

  Cain's black eyes watched me in amusement and his thin mouth twisted into a mocking smile. "So we meet again." He waved a hand about him. "As you see, I am well."

  He took a step closer and it took all my nerve not to back away. The shadows that clung to him in life now clung without hindrance, moving like a dark glob of thickened air about his frame. No doubt he used it to keep the light at bay.

  I lifted a hand and snapped my fingers. Light instantly lit up around me and I had to blink at its bright glare. Though I was slightly surprised to accomplish what I imagined in my head, I tried not to show it as I took a step toward him. Never back down from the enemy. If they see you in fear, it gives them power and now I had my light in place, one that I could actually see, I wasn't scared. Not too much anyway.

  "Leave this place, Cain."

  "Oh I will. You can have your silly little island." He turned to smile at Rosemary who now stood clinging to Grace. "Come with me. We are the same, you and I."

  I backed toward the frightened women behind me without taking my eyes from Cain. He took a step forward for each step I made backward. Once I was next to Rosemary, I touched her arm, wrapping my fingers gently around it. "He is evil, Rosemary. Do not listen to him."

  "I'm not evil. I have done things you don't approve of and you have the right to call them evil?" Annoyance flashed across his features and then he looked at Rosemary and gentled his expression. "I too have done things that others consider bad. But I did what needed to be done just as you have done what needed to be done. Come with me, Rosemary, and you will suffer no more."

  "Rosemary, you have done nothing to be ashamed of! That man, on the other hand, has killed innocent people! Good people, Rosemary."

  "Who is he?" Grace asked.

  Though her face was wreathed in concern, I knew it was for her mother and not herself. Cain could not touch Grace. As for Rosemary and I, well I wasn't so sure. I could protect myself but if he managed to distract me and I let my guard down ... what then? And if he managed to convince Rosemary to go with him, she would be lost to us. Perhaps forever. My heart lurched at the idea of it. The vision of her and I dancing and singing around the fire came to mind and tears clogged my vision.

  "Cain has chosen to live on the dark side of life." I swept my hand toward him. "You see how it clings to him, keeping the light away?"

  "I've lived in the dark all my life, Tess," Rosemary said. She turned to look at her
daughter, her eyes tearing, welling over and spilling down her cheeks. "I belong more to him than with you."

  "No, Mama. You have loved me all my life. You kept me safe and the night he went berserk, I stood up for myself and for you because I love you. I killed my step-father, Mama, but he was trying to kill you and if he'd managed to do it, he would have then turned to me and done the same. His heart had become a cold thing in his chest and that night ... that night he lost the battle to keep alive the little bit of good he still had in him."

  Grace gently wiped her mother's tears away with her hands. "When I went at him with that knife, he turned just so and though I was aiming for his shoulder, it went into his heart. I think he meant for that to happen, Mama. I met his eyes in that split second and I think I saw relief there. He wanted to be released."

  "She tells you that because it gives her peace. Why would he want to die knowing he would be punished for his sins?" Cain took another step closer and held out his hand, wiggling his long, thin fingers with encouragement as he did so. "Come with me, Rosemary."

  She actually took a step forward but I grabbed her arm and gently forced her to look at me. "Cain is right about one thing ... your husband had to answer for his wrong doings. He'll work through them, Rosemary, just as you are doing! Remember how you sent him away? I bet he is now dealing with his own issues as we speak. One thing for sure, he won't be bothering you or your mother."

  "Enough of this." Cain made a grab for Rosemary but Grace stepped between them and his hand went right through her. She flared up like a flash bulb and he cried out in pain, snapping his hand back and backing away. Fury darkened his features and instantly the world around us roared with chaos as a thunderous wind began to blow.