Landon stirred and his eyes snapped open. They fixed on me after a few seconds of wandering. It took him a second to speak. “I’m going to kill both of you.”
“Get in line,” I muttered.
“Where is everyone?” Landon’s voice was tinged with a hint of weakness – something I wasn’t used to.
“Back there,” Thistle waved at the open door. “We told them to stay with the kids until we were sure it was safe to come out.”
“You found the kids?” Landon said, rubbing the back of his head tenderly. “That’s something, I guess.”
I pulled his head towards me and carefully felt along the backside of his scalp. I felt a lump quickly growing. “How many of me do you see?”
“One,” Landon groaned. “I’m fine. Trust me, one of you is all I can take.”
“Which way did Dean go?” I asked.
Landon shrugged. “I’m not sure. Leave it for the professionals.”
“The professional is on the floor and we just found him unconscious,” Thistle replied arrogantly.
“Chief Terry is coming,” Landon said. “I called him before I got on the boat.”
“How did you even get here?”
Landon’s face clouded over. “I . . .”
“That’s a really good question.”
Dean’s voice sent shivers down my spine. I stiffly turned to find him standing at the bottom of the staircase, the knife in his hand, watching the three of us.
“Crap,” Thistle complained. “This really shouldn’t surprise me.”
“How many of you are there?” Dean’s face was starting to bloom with color. It looked like Landon had gotten a few good blows in during the fight.
“We’re a tribe,” I replied. “Even we have lost count.”
I felt a swirl of energy behind me and knew that Erika had arrived. Landon’s gaze travelled to my back and he frowned. I had no idea what he was seeing, but I couldn’t turn around and see for myself without leaving all of us vulnerable to Dean.
“It’s the bad man.”
“Gracie,” I breathed. “Where did you go?”
“To find Erika,” Gracie said. “I didn’t know what else to do when the bad people found you.”
“Good girl.”
“Who are you talking to?” Dean asked angrily.
“She’s talking to me,” Thistle tried to divert Dean’s attention.
“I thought your name was Thistle? Stupid name, by the way,” Dean scowled.
“Tell that to my mom,” Thistle replied bitterly. “She doesn’t listen when I tell her that anymore.”
“What do we do now?” This voice belonged to Erika.
“We need to make him pay.” Gracie’s voice was chilling. The fact that Dean was standing by her body probably had something to do with it.
“You want to make him pay?” I asked Gracie.
“More than anything.”
“Me, too,” Erika said. “They should all pay.”
I couldn’t agree more. I glanced over at Thistle; she nodded gravely and clasped my hand in her own.
“Wait,” Landon struggled to sit up straighter. “What are you two doing?”
“Giving them what they want,” Thistle said calmly.
The power started to build between us, our joined hands fueling the energy – while Gracie and Erika supplied the rage.
“What’s going on?” Dean asked nervously, taking a step towards us.
“I would run if I were you,” Aunt Tillie said, stepping into the hallway behind us. “You’re not going to like what’s about to happen.”
“What’s about to happen?” Landon asked worriedly. “Is that wind monster coming back?”
“Retribution,” Aunt Tillie said, glancing at Erika and Gracie knowingly. “Go take your revenge, girls.”
Erika and Gracie seemed to grow in countenance, and an ethereal red haze pooled between them. Dean’s eyes widened in abject terror when even his limited brain couldn’t fight the tableau forming in front of him.
Thistle and I leveled our eyes on each other. “Solid,” we said in unison.
Erika and Gracie, now six feet tall, took solid form and descended on Dean. His screams echoed through the hallways as two formerly small girls – fueled by unending rage and grief – exacted a revenge that spanned a hundred and sixty years and a million tears.
Thirty-Eight
When Chief Terry arrived, Dean was still alive – although I had a feeling he wished otherwise. Chief Terry slapped a pair of cuffs on him and handed him off to one of his officers as he moved towards Landon.
“Are you okay?”
“I’ll live,” Landon rubbed the back of his head ruefully. “That guy is stronger than he looks.”
“I thought I told you to wait for me?” Chief Terry looked angrier than I had ever seen him.
“I couldn’t wait,” Landon said, glancing at me guiltily.
Chief Terry sighed. “I get that,” he said. “I probably would have done the same thing in your situation. Still, though, this is going to be a huge mess of paperwork.”
“Yeah,” Landon agreed.
“Which means,” Chief Terry glanced behind us to make sure no one was in hearing range before finishing. “You need to get your stories straight now.”
“What stories?” Thistle asked curiously.
“Well, for starters, how did Tillie get here?”
“That buffoon kidnapped me outside of the inn,” Aunt Tillie replied gruffly.
“And Kenneth,” Thistle added.
“Who is Kenneth?” Chief Terry asked curiously.
“Her boyfriend.”
“He’s not my boyfriend!”
“That old guy that was hitting on her at dinner tonight? He’s here, too?” Chief Terry rubbed his face in exasperation.
“Who are you calling old?”
Chief Terry ignored Aunt Tillie’s imminent wrath. “Well, that’s easy to explain then. Where is Kenneth?”
“In the room with Clove and the kids.”
“What kids?” Chief Terry practically exploded.
“There are five kids in there,” I pointed to the open door. “I found them shackled to the floor.”
Chief Terry’s face drained of color. “Are they okay?”
“I think they need food,” I said. “They’re scared, too.”
“I bet.”
“Why don’t we shuttle them out to the inn,” Thistle suggested. “Our mothers would love nothing else but to fill them full of food – and maybe get them a bath – and that will distract them from coming down here.”
“That’s a really good idea,” Chief Terry agreed. “Plus, questioning them here isn’t going to be easy. Okay, let’s get the kids,” he said to Thistle. “You two,” he pointed at Landon and me. “You figure out the rest of the story – and you don’t tell it to anyone but me.”
“Got it, Chief,” Landon grunted, climbing to his feet and slinging an arm around my shoulders to keep his balance.
“Oh, this is just going to be a nightmare,” Chief Terry grumbled before he followed Thistle and Aunt Tillie down the hall. “Someone is going to owe me a big, fat German chocolate cake when this is all over.”
“I’ll make you one,” Aunt Tillie offered.
“Not you,” Chief Terry argued.
“Fine. I’ll order my nieces to do it for me.”
“And short ribs, too?”
“You’re awful demanding for a guy that showed up late,” Aunt Tillie reminded him.
AN HOUR later, I was standing with Landon on the dock outside of the Dandridge. Emergency personnel and a crime tech team from the state had descended on the boat. Chief Terry had warned us that the Coast Guard was on the way, too, and he (strongly) suggested that we get out of the immediate area until he could take our statements.
After a cursory check-up by the first responders, I had led Landon to the dock so he could sit down and regain his full faculties. I also wanted us far away from the congregated hordes whe
n Landon finally blew his top.
We had been sitting on the dock for ten minutes – and he hadn’t said a word. I was starting to get uncomfortable.
“Maybe you should go to the hospital,” I suggested finally. “Just to be sure.”
“I’m fine,” Landon said quietly, staring out at the rolling lake.
The silence that followed was too much. “You want to go out to the inn to get something to eat?” Or are you looking for a way to walk away without crushing me? I didn’t ask the second question out loud.
“Why did you get on the boat?” Landon asked, ignoring my initial question.
“I wanted to get to the kids,” I replied simply.
“And how did you think that would end?”
“With me getting the kids off the boat.”
“Did it even occur to you that there might be someone else on the boat? Someone with a gun? Or a knife?”
“It occurred to me,” I replied blandly. “I was just hoping it wasn’t the case.”
“You were hoping it wasn’t the case?” Landon shook his head irritably. “What were you guys doing out here anyway?”
“Just looking around,” I lied.
Landon gestured to the candles that we had left at the end of the dock when we had performed our spell earlier. “You want to change that story?”
“We were trying to find the boat,” I admitted. “We were casting a spell to call the boat to us.”
“What?” Landon practically exploded. “That is the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard!”
“Don’t yell at me!”
Landon sucked in a deep breath to calm himself. “What were you planning on doing when the boat arrived?”
“We thought we would have time to call the police if it actually showed up,” I admitted. “The spell didn’t work, though.”
“That’s because the boat was already here,” Landon supplied angrily.
“Well, we didn’t know that,” I said.
“You were really going to call the police?” Landon looked dubious.
“We really were,” I replied honestly. “We’re not stupid.”
Landon rolled his tongue into his cheek and bit down on it. “We’ll discuss that at a later date.”
I wrinkled my nose, pinching the bridge above it to keep from exploding myself. “How did you even find us?”
“I went out to the inn, but you were already gone – and so was your Aunt Tillie, which had all your mothers in a tizzy. They thought she was off doing something unseemly with Kenneth and wanted me to find them.”
I laughed. I couldn’t help myself. “I’m sure that was just what you wanted to do with your night.”
“I had other ideas, that’s for sure,” Landon looked me up and down and then turned back to the lake. “I checked the guesthouse, but you guys weren’t there.”
“We weren’t planning on being gone that long,” I explained. “I thought we would be back long before you got back into town.”
“I knew,” Landon said, his voice low. “When you weren’t there, I knew you were out here. It was like . . . it was like being vindicated when I found Thistle’s car in the parking lot. I have every intention of storming down here and dragging all three of you kicking and screaming back to the inn – and then telling your mothers what you were up to as punishment while they filled me full of cake.”
“How did you find the boat, though?”
Landon finally turned back to me, his gaze solemn. “A little girl was on the dock.”
“What?” I was confused.
“I couldn’t find you,” Landon said. “I was so angry when I was coming down here and then, when you weren’t here, I was worried.”
I let him continue, watching him breathlessly.
“And then there was a little girl here,” Landon said. “She just popped in out of nowhere.”
“Erika,” I exhaled loudly.
Landon nodded. “She told me you were on the boat and you were in trouble. She told me that bad people were on the boat with you. I knew it was too much to hope that the bad people she was referring to were Thistle and Aunt Tillie.”
“So you came to the rescue,” I finished for him.
“No,” Landon shook his head. “I called Chief Terry and made sure he was on his way out here and then I climbed on a boat and got myself knocked out and you rode to the rescue.”
“Not me,” I said, dropping to the dock next to him and running a hand through his hair gently. “Erika and Gracie.”
“When I saw her,” Landon said, still averting his eyes from mine. “I kept telling myself that it was my subconscious. It couldn’t be real, you know?”
“Oh, I know,” I agreed wearily.
“On the boat, though,” Landon said. “I saw her just kind of pop in behind you and she had that other little girl with her. And then I saw . . . I saw a big pool of red. I kept telling myself I was imagining it, but I wasn’t.”
“I’m sorry,” I offered lamely.
Landon turned back to me, his angry eyes softening in the moonlight. “For what? For being stupid and climbing on a boat without knowing if it would kill you?”
“Sure,” I said. “I am sorry about that,” I stressed. “I’m sorry that you saw things you didn’t want to see tonight. That’s what I was talking about.”
Landon chuckled. “I’m not.”
“You’re not?”
“It helps me understand you a little more,” Landon admitted. “It helped me understand your family. It’s going to make your family meeting my family a little easier, I think.”
“Yeah,” I agreed, dropping my head on his shoulder. “Wait. What?”
“Oh, yeah, I haven’t had a chance to tell you yet,” Landon smirked. “The other thing I was doing out at the inn was making reservations. My family is going to be here in a few weeks for a visit – my mom really wants to meet you – and I thought it would be good for everyone if they spent the week at the Overlook. That’s the big news my brother wanted to talk about over dinner.”
Oh crap.
Landon watched as the color drained from my face. “I think it’s funny that the prospect of meeting my family scares you more than human traffickers on a boat. That’s not weird at all.”
“I’m not scared,” I scoffed. I was terrified.
Erika picked that moment to pop into existence next to me. Landon jumped in surprise. He could still see her. That was interesting. “Gracie is gone.”
“What do you mean she’s gone?” I asked.
“She went away.”
“You mean her body?” I asked sadly. “The police will make sure it gets home, Erika. I promise.”
“She went with her body,” Erika said.
“I don’t understand.”
“When the police pulled the tarp off her body there was this bright light and then she was just gone.”
“You mean she passed on,” I said quietly.
“She went to the better place?” Erika’s eyes lit up hopefully.
“She did.”
“When will I go?”
“I . . .“
“What is that?”
I glanced over and saw Landon pointing to the sky. I narrowed my eyes to see what he was looking at. It was a shooting star. “Make a wish,” I whispered to Erika.
She watched the star for a second and then screwed her eyes shut in concentration.
I watched the star, expecting it to wink out on the horizon, but instead it changed direction and started heading towards us. Landon scrambled to his feet as the star neared, pulling me with him and trying to shade me with his arm. I fought his efforts and watched the star as it alit on the end of the dock.
The blinding light caused me to close my eyes for a moment. When I opened them again the star was gone and there was a woman standing on the edge of the dock. She was dark, like Erika, and her clothes belied an era more than a hundred years past.
“Mama!”
I turned to Erika, surprise etched on my face. Ma
ma?
“Erika,” the woman opened her arms as the ghostly apparition of her daughter raced into them. “I’ve been looking for you for a very long time. I couldn’t find you. Not until now.”
Landon marveled at the spectacle in front of us, but he didn’t say a word. He left that to me.
“You’re Erika’s mother?”
“I am,” the woman straightened up and met my gaze kindly. “Thank you.”
“For what?”
“Fulfilling her wish.”
“What was your wish?” I asked Erika curiously.
“To go home.”
“Are you taking her home?” I glanced back up at the woman who was running her hand down her daughter’s small head lovingly.
“I’m taking her to a new home,” the woman said carefully. “She’ll be safe there. No need to worry.”
“I’m not worried,” I said. “Well, I was worried when I didn’t know how to get her to you, but I’m not worried anymore.”
“You have a good heart,” the woman said. “People are watching and they know that. They’re always willing to help. Don’t forget that.”
“I don’t understand,” I admitted.
“You will. Some day.”
The woman kept Erika close as they started to fade, but Erika pulled away and took a step towards me questioningly. Her mother ceased shimmering and watched curiously. “I’ll miss you,” Erika said. “You were the only one that could see me and you saved me. You got me to my mama.”
“You got yourself to your mama,” I said, my voice hitching. “And you saved those other children.”
“Not Gracie,” Erika said sadly.
“You could never have saved Gracie.”
“Neither could you,” Erika said. “Remember that.”
“Why?”
“Because you worry about too many things,” Erika said, a small smile playing at the corner of her mouth. “You can’t fix everything.”
I smiled as the tears started to fall and Erika moved back towards her mother. “Have a good . . . life,” I whispered.
Erika smiled brightly. “You, too. I’ll be watching every time you wish on a star – so wish on a lot of them.”
Then they were gone.
Epilogue
4 Witching On A Star Page 27