by Rose Pressey
“Lots of kids play with the boards, but it can turn bad quickly.”
“Do you think you can still help us?” she asked.
“I will do everything I can to help you.”
“You don’t know how much this means to me.”
My voice had sounded confident, but I was anything but confident. I hoped I could help. I wasn’t sure what I was dealing with. Maybe it would be too much for me to handle.
“I need to talk with her,” I said.
“I haven’t seen her since this afternoon. I’m beginning to worry.”
“Have you called her friends?” I asked.
“Yes, but they haven’t seen her either.”
I wasn’t sure what to do. Should Bonnie call the police? I didn’t want her to freak out.
“I’m sure she is fine and will be home soon. Can you call me when she does return so I can ask her a few questions?”
Bonnie sighed again. I knew she was full of worry.
“Yes, I’ll call you. Thanks again, Larue.”
“You’re welcome,” I said. “Oh, wait a minute. I just saw your daughter.”
“Where are you?” Bonnie asked.
“I’m downtown by my store. I’ll go after her and call you back,” I said and then hung up my phone.
“We can’t let her get away this time,” Marilyn said.
I practically ran down the sidewalk after Bethany. “I don’t intend to.”
I called out, but if Bethany heard me, she didn’t turn around.
“Teenagers,” Roger said as he hurried along beside me.
She wasn’t running, but she was walking a lot faster than I could. It was hard to keep up with my short strides.
“You have to speed up,” Roger said.
“She can’t walk any faster,” James reminded him.
“Thank you,” I said.
I was getting strange looks as I rushed down the sidewalk.
“Where do you think she’s going?” Marilyn asked.
“I don’t know, but she isn’t slowing down.”
She was moving away from the busier section of town; away from the shops.
“I bet she’s going to the park. That place was always spooky,” Roger said.
“If she is maybe I can finally catch her,” I said as I panted for breath.
I had to hurry or I’d miss her. Once she got into the park she could go in any direction and I’d lose her. As much as I hated it, I had to run. Anything more than a brisk walk and I looked like I was doing a bad impression of the way a wounded spider would walk. However, it was the only way I would catch her. After the class with Mindy, I was in no shape to exert that much energy, but I had to do it anyway. I forced my legs to move faster. They protested in pain, but I managed to push through. Even though I was getting close, Bethany still hadn’t turned around to see me.
“Do you think she senses you’re here?” Marilyn asked.
“I guess not,” I answered breathlessly.
I held my side to ease the cramp. I probably looked like the walking dead as I scuttled down the sidewalk.
Finally, I was within reach. I grabbed her shoulder. She spun around with her eyes wide and mouth open, as if she’d just encountered the grim reaper.
“She almost peed her pants,” Roger said.
At least I’d finally been able to stop her.
“I didn’t mean to scare you,” I said still trying to catch my breath.
Bethany seemed as if she was scared of just about everything right now. Her hands shook and her legs trembled. She darted her eyes. “They are following me.”
I didn’t even need to ask who they were. I knew who they were.
“I need to ask you about the Ouija board,” I said.
Her eyes widened. “How did you know?”
I wasn’t sure I should tell Bethany that her mother had been in her room, so I said, “I just know these things.”
That made me seem a lot smarter than I really was. She would probably find out the truth sooner or later though.
She hugged her bag closer to her body as if that would offer protection. “I used the thing. It was just fun at first, but then things turned bad when the dark shadows showed up.”
“How long have they been around?” I asked.
She tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. “For a couple weeks now. They just came a little at first, but now they are following me all the time.”
I glanced around. “I don’t see them now.”
“You can see them?” she asked.
I nodded. “Most of the time. I have one following me, too. Have they tried to attack you?”
Her mouth dropped a little. “Not yet. You mean they can really attack?”
I sighed. “I’m afraid so.”
James paced around Bethany. “She really shouldn’t have used that board.”
Roger glared at James. “She’s just a kid. Leave her alone.”
Bethany picked at the hem of her shirt. “I was only doing the witchcraft for good spells. When the dark spirits came, I tried to use it to get rid of them.”
“So, that was why you wanted the other books?” I asked.
“So far, it hasn’t worked, of course. Do you think you can help me?” Dark circles lined under her eyes.
“I’m going to try my best,” I said.
She attempted a smile. “That would be so great. Thank you.”
I hoped I really could help her. If I couldn’t what would she do? What would I do?
I needed to know something. “I have a question for you.”
She nodded. “I’ll try to answer the best I can.”
“Who were you trying to contact with the Ouija board?” I asked.
She shrugged. “No one in particular really, I was just calling out to any spirits who might be in the house. I thought it would be fun.”
“That’s never a good idea,” I said. “There are always bad spirits waiting for someone to call on them and as soon as they find a person who might be vulnerable at the time, they’ll slip right through.”
“So, I really screwed up.”
“Don’t be so hard on yourself.” I patted her shoulder.
“Yeah, but I put my mom through a lot and she’ll never let me live it down.”
“They never do.” Roger shook his head. “They never do.”
Oh, he was so dramatic.
“I’m sure she doesn't feel that way,” I said. “We will be able to work it out somehow. I don’t know what will do, but I’ll figure out something.”
She sighed. “I hope you’re right.”
“First, we will have to find out about the spirits.”
“How will we do that?” she asked.
“I may actually have to use the board. It’ll be able to let me communicate with the demon since that’s obviously how it came through.”
Her eyes widened.
“I don’t recommend it at all and I try to avoid it. But now that I know that’s how you got that spirit here to begin with, then that’s how we’ll communicate with them from now on.”
She glanced over her shoulder. “When do we do this?”
I checked the time on my phone. It was almost time to meet Stone. “I have another appointment right now. Would you like to come to the park with me? I’m meeting someone who might have information about the shadow who’s following me.”
“Yeah, sure I don’t have anything else to do.” She shifted the bag on her shoulder.
“Well, one thing we have to do is call your mom and let her know you’re okay.”
She waved her hands. The bracelets on her wrists jingled with the movement. “I don't want to face her after what I’ve done.”
“Your mom loves you and she’s worried about you, so you really need to pick up the phone and give her a call.”
I handed her my phone and she dialed her mom’s number. She stepped away for a second so they could talk.
“Wow, this is pretty heavy stuff.” Roger shoved his ha
nds in his pockets.
“I hope this all works out with Stone. I’m so worried.” Marilyn twisted her hands together.
“Larue will figure it out,” James said. “She has a little help that she probably doesn’t even know about.”
I eyed James, but he avoided my stare. What was he talking about?
After a couple minutes, Bethany stepped back over and handed me the phone.
“Everything okay?” I asked.
She blew out a deep breath. “Yeah, everything’s going to be all right. At least, I hope so.”
I motioned for her to follow me. “Come on. Let’s go.”
We walked the short distance to the park. It was a gated entrance with a walkway leading to a big bubbling fountain in the middle. Around the park where benches, so we walked over to the nearest one. I wondered what Stone would be able to do? Night had settled all around us, so the shadows would be a lot harder to see lurking in the dark. At least we had a bit of light from the full moon casting a white glow all over the park.
“All we can do right now is to sit and wait,” I said.
She shifted next to me on the bench. I knew she was nervous about seeing the shadows again.
“Don’t worry, I won’t let them get you.” My voice sounded a lot more confident than I felt.
“I can keep watch,” Marilyn offered.
“You look on that side and I’ll look on the other side.” Roger gestured to Marilyn.
I smiled to myself knowing the ghosts were keeping an eye on me and had my back.
“So, you do the witchcraft?” Bethany asked as we sat on the bench.
I waved my hand dismissively. “I do a little bit, but not a lot. I have to worry most about the paranormal investigating. It takes up most of my time.”
“I think I saw something.” Marilyn’s voice rose.
“Where is it?” Roger asked.
Marilyn pointed and I looked out across the park, past the bubbling fountain. That was when I saw the shadows, too. They moved closer and Bethany scooted next to me on the bench. She had seen them at that point, as well. The shadows floated just above the ground. Their silhouettes highlighted by the moonlight and distant street lights.
“What do we do now?” she asked with a trembling voice.
I patted her hand. “Try to stay calm. We don’t want them to know we’re scared of them.”
“But, I am scared of them,” she whispered.
I kept my eyes on the shadows. “We can’t let them know that. They feed off of fear. That’s why they have gotten stronger.”
Bethany held my arm. “I don’t know what to do so that they don’t sense my fear.”
“Take a deep breath,” I said.
We shouldn’t have watched the spirits, but at the same time, I wanted to know what they were doing. If they moved closer, I wanted to know about it. Relying on Roger or Marilyn to tell me wasn’t good enough. I had told Bethany not to be scared, but deep down I was frightened, too. There was no way to encounter something like this and not be at least slightly scared.
Bethany and I sat on the bench motionless, well, except for the slight twitching of her legs. The spirits had moved closer, but suddenly they had started to fade away as if the energy they needed to appear was being depleted. Why they had decided to leave I wasn’t sure, but I wasn’t about to question it. I was glad they were going.
“I think they’re leaving,” she whispered.
“I think you’re right,” I said.
We spoke in hushed tones, as if the spirits heard us then they would return, so we had to be quiet.
“They’re gone,” Marilyn said.
“Yeah, but for how long?” Roger asked.
He was right, I knew they wouldn’t stay away for long. The more energy they got, the more they would be able to come back. If they had enough, then they would stay for good. I didn’t know what would happen if they stayed around permanently. I checked the time again, hoping Stone would appear soon. What if he didn’t show up? What would we do then?
Chapter 19
Stone appeared walking from around the fountain. How had he been back there? That was where the shadows had been. He had stepped out of the night like he had been a part of the darkness. His gaze settled right on us. I hoped he didn’t leave when he realized I wasn’t alone. He hadn’t told me not to bring anyone else, but he was somewhat strange, so I figured he may not like that Bethany was here.
Bethany and I sat in silence as we watched Stone come toward us. I couldn’t wait to hear what he had to say. Had he seen the shadows that had just been here? They had disappeared almost exactly where he had appeared. It was almost as if the spirits had left when they saw Stone. I knew that wasn’t possible, though. Why would his presence make them disappear? The dark shadow following me didn’t seem to mind when Stone came around. That dark shadow wasn’t afraid of anything.
Stone was dressed in black pants and a black shirt, so he kind of blended in with the night. He had changed since I’d seen him at the restaurant. I wanted to ask him about his ability to see and talk to spirits so badly. I hoped he was honest with me.
Stone stepped up to us. “I was wondering if you’d show up.”
He wondered if I would show up? I had expected him not to show.
“He seems as if he is really troubled by something,” Marilyn said.
Stone acknowledged Marilyn with a nod, but didn’t respond.
“He could just be weird. I never liked the guy,” Roger said.
A muscle flicked in Stone’s jaw and his whole body tensed. “Well, I didn’t like you either.”
“Roger, you acted as if you didn’t know him,” I said.
Roger waved his hand. “Of course I know him. He was living in the house I was haunting.”
I didn’t like the way Roger kept secrets. What else was he not telling me?
Stone directed his attention to Bethany.
“I hope you don’t mind that I brought someone along. This is Bethany McCarthy. She’s having a bit of a problem with spirits following her.” I quirked an eyebrow. “They’re similar to the one I have. She used a Ouija board.”
Bethany stared down at her sneakers, avoiding eye contact.
Stone nodded. “Nice to meet you.”
“Nice to meet you, too,” she mumbled.
I stood from the bench. “I’m going to have to use the Ouija board to contact the spirits she brought through.”
The expression on Stone’s face was shadowed with deep concern. “I’m not sure that is such a wise decision.”
“I agree with him, Larue,” Marilyn said.
“What other choice do I have?” I asked.
“You run the risk of bringing other spirits through.” Trepidation thickened his voice.
“Oh, that is the last thing you need, Larue,” Roger said.
“I understand the risks, but I don’t know of any other way. Do you have suggestions?”
If he knew so much about it, then he needed to offer up some advice instead of telling me what not to do.
“I might have another idea. If you are willing.” He studied my face.
I watched him. “Depends on what it is.”
If it was something completely weird, then I wasn’t game for that.
“It involves getting rid of the portal,” he said.
That sounded difficult and I wasn’t sure it would be possible.
“We saw the shadows right before you showed up.” I motioned toward the fountain.
He nodded. “I saw them, too.”
“Did you make them go away?” Marilyn asked.
He turned to her. “I asked them to leave.”
That was all it took? I wasn’t sure if I believed him.
“Just like that they left?” I eyed Stone up and down.
He shrugged. “Just like that.”
I scoffed. “Something doesn’t seem right about this whole thing.”
“I said I would never go back to that house.” Stone peered out acr
oss the park as if lost in thought.
What had happened in that house when he lived there?
“Why do you say that?” I pushed for an answer.
He shoved his hands into his pockets. “Needless to say, it wasn’t a good time for me. Once I got away, I didn’t want to go through that again. I’ve tried my best to block out the spirits ever since.”
“That’s impossible. Why would you even try such a thing?” I asked.
“It’s what I had to do for me,” he said.
“What happened in that house?” I tried to hide the anxiety in my voice.
He ran his hand through his hair. “I invited the spirit in.”
It sounded familiar to what Bethany had done.
“Did you use the Ouija board, too?” I asked her.
If he had been a teenager at the time, then that was a possibility. Stone turned and walked toward the fountain.
“Is he leaving?” Marilyn whispered.
Stone turned toward me and walked back. “I just invited the spirit in, okay? It’s not something I should have done.”
“Well, duh,” Roger said.
James paced in front of the fountain. He appeared as if he was growing tired of our conversation. I couldn’t worry about keeping the ghosts entertained at the moment.
“What went on after you invited it in?” I asked.
“A lot of bad things happened and then we left. I got out of there and I said I would never go back. I shouldn’t have left it there, though; not knowing what I know,” he said.
James walked up to us as if he was going to say something, but turned away. He was acting awfully strange.
“That’s why I came back now,” Stone said.
“You came back because of the spirit?”
He released a deep breath. “I wanted to know what had taken place since I’d left. Then, I met you and saw the thing again.”
“I guess you weren’t expecting that, were you?” I asked.
He shook his head. “No, not in the least. I felt guilty for not trying to get rid of it when I had the chance.”
“So, you came back now to get rid of it?” I asked.
He shrugged. “If it’s possible.”
“What do we do now?”
I knew what I would do, but I wasn’t sure what was on Stone’s mind. He said he hadn’t used the Ouija board, but I felt for sure he had. He probably didn’t want to admit it.