The Middle House: Return to Cold Creek Hollow (Haunted Series)

by Alexie Aaron

“Why didn’t I think of that? You’re a clever girl, Nancy Drew.”

  They chatted about Ralph’s and Bernard’s latest wedding plan ideas while they made the bed. Mia found an oversized PEEPs tee for her to wear for pajamas and then left her to her own devices. Audrey looked around the room and got up and let in Maggie before she climbed into bed herself. She smiled when the dog settled at her feet. Somehow she no longer felt lonely. In fact, she felt loved.

  Mia found Ted outside, engrossed in a conversation with Burt in front of his car. Mia walked into the building, through the office and out into the barn. She nodded to Cid who was tinkering with something at the work bench. She glanced at the lead box were Cid had installed a device they used to pick up vibrations on stairways and floors. It would sound a tone if the immediate area had been disturbed. She carefully lifted the rocking chair off the ground and carried it back over to Murphy’s area. She fluffed the pillows and put a hand over the coffee table, frowning as she left her prints in the dust.

  “You can teach them to ride ley lines, but can you get them to dust?”

  “He does his best,” Cid called over.

  Mia had once again forgot about Cid’s super hearing. “I know, I’m just being ironic. He’s pretty upset over the fire,” she said. “I think he’d like to get a little of his own back with the HHs.”

  “HHs?” he asked.

  “Hollow Horrors,” Mia supplied. “Sorry, living with the Tedmister has me reducing most everything to acronyms.”

  Mia walked over to where the lead box rested and waited for Cid to join her. Together they moved the recliner to the corner and set it beside the rocker.

  “How about you?” Cid asked after a while.

  “Me? Oh, the HHs. I think I felt a hell of a lot better when Lorna sent Hanging Man into oblivion. It doesn’t make up for Sherry’s death, but I feel better knowing that some innocent won’t find themselves stumbling into the same situation.”

  “Was she innocent?” Cid asked.

  “She wasn’t a nice person, but she didn’t deserve to die or be used that way after death. I expect she’s enjoying the arty-ghostie scene in SoHo or someplace like that. I asked Tom to let Whit know that her murderer was brought to justice.”

  “How’s he doing?”

  “I don’t know. I guess no news, via Tom, is good news.”

  “You’re not being disloyal to Ted if you think about him from time to time,” Cid counseled.

  “Wise words, but in this case, I probably feel a little guilty. It ended rather quick. I, like Burt, should have thought a bit longer before jumping in bed with Whitney.”

  “Burt slept with Whitney?” Cid acted surprised.

  This caused Mia to laugh. “You are a comedian as well as a super hero.”

  “Just working on my Clark Kent side,” Cid admitted.

  Mia looked around her. “It’s pretty quiet. I, or Ted, will come and spell you at the witching hour. Tonia’s sleeping in the trailer so you’ll be able to crawl in your own bed tonight. Audrey’s in the guestroom.”

  “You have a full house.”

  “Yes, and if it weren’t for the HHs, I’d be able to enjoy it more. I’m not sure I’ll sleep a wink tonight.”

  “I know what you mean. With Angelo and Lorna prowling out there, I’m going to be a very light sleeper this evening. Thank god, Murphy isn’t keen on naps.”

  “Yes, thank god for Murphy.”

  ~

  Thaddeus Maynard the Third was living a nightmare. Not only had he lost time, but he’d just found out from his lawyer that he’d spent his mother’s fortune on land and property he had no use for; tried to make illegal improvements to a graveyard; hired mercenaries and had them kidnap a priest and a woman he didn’t know; and to top it off, he was suspected of stealing goats! Sure, he’d gone on benders and got married twice – they were costly annulments the next day – but he remembered doing it. The doctor on staff discussed blackouts due to chronic alcoholism with him. Rehab was discussed, but Thaddeus had to do something first. He had to undo what he’d done.

  Gerald Shem turned up in his hospital room. The attractive, Haitian-born, successful entrepreneur offered to purchase the land back from him. He’d explained that it was intended for a wildlife area. They were going to raze the houses and let nature take over.

  “And I maneuvered to get it for my industrial company? What was I thinking?” he said apologetically.

  “Mr. Maynard, sometimes, something gets in us and controls what we do. You must remain vigilant. Don’t drink the bottle dry. Take good care of yourself, and maybe, just maybe, you’ll be able to protect yourself from things like this happening again,” he counseled.

  “I appreciate you going through this trouble to fix my problem,” Thaddeus thanked Shem.

  “Consider it a favor to be repaid,” Shem said and left the room.

  One problem was on the way to being fixed. But forcing a buyout of a charity wasn’t what had put him in handcuffs. What could be done about the kidnapping charges? Could his lawyer pull out another miracle? He then remembered some advice he mother had given him. She said, “For misdemeanors there are lawyers, for the bigger things, there’s God.” He bent his head and prayed.

  God must have been working on overdrive because he had just finished his plea for help when Sheriff John Ryan walked into his hospital room and shut the door behind him.

  “Mr. Maynard, I understand that you weren’t yourself the last few days. I’ll talk to the injured parties and see if you can make restitution. I feel strongly that together we can work something out, on the condition you work seriously on your drinking problem.”

  Thaddeus’s mouth dropped open. He couldn’t believe his ears. “Sure, whatever needs doing, I’m there. I’ll buy new goats, a farm if needed. I don’t know these people I had kidnapped but…”

  The sheriff raised his hand to stop Thaddeus from making promises he couldn’t keep. “We’ll work on that later. In the meanwhile, it’s very important in the next few days that you stay here so the hospital can monitor your behavior.”

  “Do you think I’ve been possessed?”

  The sheriff looked at him oddly and seemed to be weighing his words before answering, “I think it’s a possibility. I can have someone who knows more about it to come and visit you. Would you like that?”

  “Oh, yes. I mean, please.”

  “Until then, I think we better leave the cuffs on and a deputy outside your door, for your safety and the safety of the hospital staff.”

  Thaddeus lifted his hands as far as the cuffs would let him. “I’ll manage.”

  The sheriff looked around the room. “You know, you’re in a very special room. They normally put our prisoners in the east wing of the hospital. This room has a history of having a benevolent spirit that watches over the sick. If you feel something trying to come over you, make you do something you don’t want, call out. You will be helped.”

  “If you would have told me this any other time in my life, I would have thought you were a good candidate for what my mother would call the funny farm. But today, I understand and believe you. And it’s not because of your choice of bracelets,” Thaddeus said, jiggling the cuffs.

  The two men talked about a few other particulars before the sheriff took his leave. Thaddeus watched as he nodded to something in the corner before leaving. The door eased shut again, and Thaddeus was left alone.

  “Hello, I’m Thaddeus, and I’m in real trouble here. I need some serious counseling.”

  He smiled and laid his head back on the pillow. Just before he fell asleep, he felt a cool hand on his forehead, and he thought he heard the sound of beads.

  ~

  She stood still at the edge of the graveyard. Anyone daring to venture in at that hour would have mistaken her for a monument. Her skin was alabaster in the moonlight, and her eyes were closed, listening to all that was around her. It was only when she opened them that you could see that she was alive. The dark orbs moved ever so s
lightly as she took in before her all that was living and all that wasn’t. She saw the dozens of ghosts who moved back and forth along the street, moving in and out of the middle house. A bizarre clockwork sight at best. At worst, they were gearing up for war.

  She moved her head in the direction of the middle house and sensed her nemesis inside. Hidden under the full-skirted dress was a skin-walker. She didn’t take the form of an animal but chose to hold onto her human form. This is what caused the peeling of her skin. Skin-walkers were freaks of nature and not the playthings of mankind. Many had tried to harness the power of the beast but fell prey to the insanity it caused. No skin-walker ever lasted this long. Perhaps it was because the host was dead or that the demon it was feeding off of was very powerful. Either way, the deer-woman would have her hands full.

  First things first, she would sing her siren song and see what kind of fish she caught.

  Angelo watched from the shadows as the deer-woman wove the night sounds into a melody of sorts. He covered his ears as she hissed her words underneath the music. It was a spell no male, alive or dead, could resist. They followed her from the graveyard deep into the dark swampy woods where she dispatched them as if they were nothing more than smoke she waved away with her antlers. Dozens went into the woods. None came out.

  Murphy followed Angelo’s example and held his hands over his ears. He worried about reprisals from the hollow and had followed the pair. He chose to make his stand on the ridge. If any spirits made it past the super-beings, he would do his best to hold them off. No one was going to gain possession of the box tonight.

  Alice looked out of the window and smiled. She noticed that the streets were empty again. Her mother rallied and searched the passageways for the lost ones and pushed them out into the streets to find the miscreants that dared to disobey her orders and leave the hollow. Alice wondered how long this new group would last. She didn’t have to be out there to know that tonight was no night for the dead to go walking, especially if they were male.

  Mia walked into the barn and looked upon her sleeping husband’s form for a moment before she tenderly touched his shoulder. Ted shot upright, embarrassed to be caught sleeping on the job. Mia put her finger to her lips, reached out and drew him into her arms and held him. She eased his tired body back into the chair and leaned against him. She felt his scratchy whiskers on her arm but did not mind the discomfort. She needed to feel, after the nightmare she had just awakened from. Did the dream foretell the future or was it a creation of her anxious thoughts?

  “I dreamed I woke and everything was white,” she said, pushing Ted’s hat off his head and lovingly moving her fingers through the curls. “It was as if a fog had come from the lowlands, snaking its way over hill and dale until it found our home. I literally could not see my hand in front of my face. The fog wasn’t cold like you would expect but warm and soothing. I started to be lulled by the warmth. My eyelids drooped, and I started to sleep within a sleep. Do you understand this?”

  “I woke up once and thought I was awake only to find myself in another dream,” Ted said softly. “I panicked and could hardly breathe. Just then, you must have moved in your sleep, and I woke up for real,” he related. “You saved me.”

  “Gee, I didn’t know I was so powerful. I will no longer fear tossing and turning and stealing your covers,” Mia teased.

  “Maybe you have too much power,” he said, appreciating how good it felt to be caressed this way. “Tell more of the dream,” he urged.

  “The new dream was black and cold. But somehow I appreciated the stark difference from the dream before and moved with confidence. Pinpricks of light drew me to them. I felt the pull. After a momentary fright, I calmed down and let the little lights pull me off the ground. I was flying. The lights became larger as I sped through what I now think was the universe. I seemed to be centering on one star in particular, and as I neared it, I felt the heat of its burning rays. My skin tingled as if it was just awakening. I twisted my body and managed to stop my progression into the star. I turned my head and saw a planet below me. I let myself fall into the gravitational pull of the orb. Soon, I was moving downwards through the white again until I was back in our room, pondering the fog.”

  “Was that it?”

  “Yes. Crazy dream, huh?”

  “I’m glad you decided to come home from your travels, Mia,” Ted said, leaning his head against her stomach.

  “Is that was I did? Travel? Or was it a dream?”

  “I think it was a test.”

  “Did I pass?”

  “I don’t know. I hope so. I think that you live on the edge of our world. Sometimes it’s easy to wake up on the wrong side of things and find yourself in that other world. A small part of you wants to continue to be in that world, but fortunately, a larger part wants you to stay here. I’m glad because I would be lost without you, Mia.”

  “I would be lost without you, Teddy Bear. You do more than ground me to this plane. You give me life.”

  “No, that was Murphy.”

  “No, he brought me back to life. You give me life,” Mia insisted. She knelt down and laid her head on his lap. It was his turn to stroke her hair, skin. He moved his hand to the back of her neck and stopped. “Mia, did you get burned by a cinder today?”

  “Not that I know of? Why?”

  Because there’s a small, red raised area at the back of your neck. It’s irregular in shape. It could possibly be a tiny bear.”

  “A teddy bear?” she asked, no longer afraid.

  “No a big bear. Mia, maybe you were in Ursula Major. That’s where you traveled in your dreams. Most people bring back a t-shirt from their mini vacations; you brought back a bear.”

  Mia moved her hand to the back of her head. Ted guided her fingers to the burn. She touched it and was sucked into a vision.

  “Welcome, Mia, to the Council of Women,” her grandmother said.

  Chapter Twenty-five

  “Don’t look so startled, Mia. Did you expect me to simply retire?” Fredericka asked.

  “No, Grandma, I didn’t really know you well enough to anticipate this,” Mia said calmly, looking at the women that sat in a circle around her.

  “I feel that I have hurt you with my silence. But I assure you there was no other way,” she explained. “We will talk more when we are over this crisis.”

  “Yes, Grandma.”

  “We have released the deer-woman to walk again on your lands. She is a willful but necessary entity. She is the only thing that can destroy the skin-walker. However, the longer she walks on the earthly plane, the more she’ll want to stay. To do so, she will seek out human prey. You must watch her and not let her get this far. Her job is to defeat the skin-walker and then carry the box containing the black heart of the demon to the Council. We will deal with it here.”

  “If you could have dealt with the demon, why then did you allow it to exist?”

  “Balance. This is a perpetual argument between those two rogues Santos and Alessandro. But the world must have a balance between good and evil. At the time of his rising, the demon balanced the creation of the Native American cultural awareness. They came together in cities, and it looked like a new world would be born out of their industry. But they became too strong and could not be controlled. A plague was sent to wipe them out. This demon is the physical representation of that plague. You must not let it leave the hollow until the deer-woman does so.”

  “Seems to me that you have more powerful critters at your beck and call than I, Grandma: Tonia, Lorna and Angelo,” she listed.

  “Tonia guards the box and directs Lorna who is the physical embodiment of the deer-woman. Angelo is a strong warrior and will fight for us, but he does not understand our ways.”

  “If I do this for you, I need you to do something for me,” Mia insisted. “A favor for a favor.”

  “You have been around Gerald Shem too long, Mia,” Fredericka scolded. “What is the favor?”

  “I want Sabine and B
rian to have more time together.”

  “He is dying. Has not the birdwoman given him enough time?” she asked.

  “Refugia has done what she can, but you can do more. Any group that can bring forth a deer-woman can give a man a cure.” Mia looked around the group, pivoting slowly, storing all of their images into her memory.

  “We will consider your request, but you must do our task. There is no time for you to ponder the position. You have been called, and you, my granddaughter, will rise up and do your best,” she said firmly.

  Mia lifted an eyebrow but nodded. “I will do my best.”

  Mia felt Ted’s hands on her skin. “Mia, come back to me,” he cooed.

  She moved her head and tried to stand.

  “Where did you go? Another dream?” he asked.

  “No, a hen party,” she said, shaking her arms to bring the blood flow back. “How long was I gone?”

  “A few minutes. I knew that you weren’t OOBing because you were breathing so hard. At one point I thought you said, ‘Grandma.’”

  “I did? Imagine that. Ted, I have I story to tell you.”

  “First sit down. I’ll pour you some of my special brew, and the two of us will be awake enough to enjoy your tale. Are there pirates in it?”

  “Sorry, no pirates,” Mia said.

  “Well, one can’t have everything,” he said in mock glumness, handing her a cup of hot, infused coffee from his thermos.

  He studied her face while she related what happened to her when her fingers connected with the red bear on the back of her neck. Her eyes were animated, and her expressions intense. He felt as if he were standing next to her while the council were making their request. “So Lorna is now a deer-woman. Angelo’s a bird, and you’re to watch them and make sure they don’t destroy the world.”

  “That about sums it up. Except I may this time get something in return,” she said, her eyes twinkling.

  “I’m so turned on, Mia. I’m married to a woman who makes deals with spirit guides.”