Haven’s face flushed. “What—”
“I overheard her ask if you were all right. With the way you’ve been zoning in and out, I figured it out.” Gabriel shoved an extra set of batteries in his bag. “Come on, Haven. Swallow your pride. What happens if you aren’t sure what’s going on and she needs help?”
Haven’s eyes cut to me and then away. “Fine.”
“All right then.” Gabriel held out one arm, indicating the doorway. “After you.”
Cain held out a palm sized walkie-talkie. “If you need us, use this.” I took it from his hand and clipped it to my waistband. “Otherwise, we’ll wait for your return before sending out the next team.”
“Give us about five minutes, and then we’ll cut the power at the main breaker.” I rubbed my hands over my face, sucking in a few gulps of air. Every nerve in my body was on high alert. I bounced on my toes, the energy in the house moving through me now, whether I liked it or not. I couldn’t block it all out. It pulsed around us, a living thing, and I had to resist the urge to scratch at my own skin. It was like it was stuck to me, and all I needed to do was get a grip and peel it away.
“Are you sure we have to go dark?” I asked again.
Cain paused, his eyes roving over the equipment. “For once, I wish I could say we didn’t. But the equipment won’t work as well—it’s all geared for complete darkness, and we are investigators.”
“Okay. We’re off then.”
Cain gave me a thumbs up and a smile, but his grin was forced. Grant and Bryan came back in. Bryan, did not turn his red-rimmed eyes from his toes. Grant took a seat next to George. Worry cut a line between his eyebrows.
“Be careful, Sis. Don’t be stupid.”
I gave him a mock salute, and a smile with more warmth than I actually felt. He saw right through it, but didn’t call me on it. Without any more delay, I led Gabriel and Haven downstairs. It would be different to be in the house with absolutely no light. Even when it was dark normally, there were little things. Clock lights in the kitchen, the porch light outside.
When I opened the door to the basement, a blast of icy air rushed out. I stepped inside anyway, flicking the button on my flashlight. “Ready or not,” I whispered. “Here we come.”
Gabriel cursed as we started down the stairs.
Teeth chattering, I glanced over my shoulder, “I thought you were a priest. Are you supposed to know those words?”
“Different kind of priest.” It sounded like he was gargling marbles.
I could understand why. The air was thick, almost like breathing soup. I made my way over to the breaker box, leaving Haven and Gabriel to start the cleansing. Haven lit a stick of sage, wafting the smoke around the room. Gabriel started a prayer, and I shone my flashlight on the box, finding the main switch.
“Are we ready?”
When there was no answer, I turned. Haven nodded behind me, his lips moving in some sort of prayer, though his words were inaudible.
I pushed the switch, and the house plunged into total darkness, except for the ring of our flashlights. They moved through the room, Gabriel’s voice calling out in Latin, firm in the darkness.
Wind, thick with the smell of decay, blew through, the icy tendrils biting into exposed flesh. I gagged, and heard Gabriel’s chant falter a moment as he did the same. It didn’t take much to sense the spirit around us, snarling in the dark. Gabriel’s light on the other side of the room went out, and I heard him stumble in the dark. His litany didn’t relent.
Haven moved into the last and farthest corner with the sage. The smoke moved through the beam of his light like ribbons. He stumbled and swore. I saw the flare of the smoldering end of the sage bundle and started toward it. His flashlight rolled a few feet away from him, and in the beam two bluish and rotting feet came into view.
“Holy crap,” Haven whispered I scooped up the bundle, then found Haven and helped him to his feet. He pulled the sage from me.
Gabriel finished the last line of prayer and padded closer. I flipped up the flashlight in time to see him fling holy water in the direction of the feet, shouting a few Latin words.
A growl reverberated around us.
“I don’t think that helped much,” I said, backing toward the stairs and catching Haven’s hand with mine. “What else do you have in your bag of tricks?”
I heard Gabriel hiss in the darkness and then his light flickered back to life. He tossed holy water out again with another shouted command. This time it seemed to work. The growl escalated to a roar.
I ducked, and the ghost sped past us, fleeing. Anger and stench followed the wind it created, riffling our hair. The ghost had left and retreated upstairs to dwell in another dark place for a time.
“Not as easy as I hoped,” Gabriel said. “Are you two all right?”
Haven’s voice was breathy. “Yeah. And to think, that was only the beginning.”
I grimaced, though neither could see me in the dark. “Let’s not think about it. The others will be thrilled, though. I think we got all of it on camera. Including the creepy feet.”
“Screw the camera.” Gabriel led the way back to the stairs. “Let’s just make sure we all get out of here in one piece.”
Chapter Thirty-Six
Haven and I stayed in the living room with George while Cain, Laura, and Gabriel went through the back rooms. Sitting in the dark, with a few camp lanterns for light wasn’t easy, even though the warding on the room provided some relief. Mom sat in the rocking chair in a dark corner, moving back and forth.
Somehow, though I couldn’t see her face, I could feel her smiling at our discomfort.
“Breathe.” Haven leaned close enough to whisper in my ear. “You’re letting them get to you.”
“I know.” I sat back, leaning against his side. “How are you?”
His lips pressed to my hair. “In here, I can relax a little. Out there—” He paused, and his muscles tensed under my cheek. “I don’t know if I’m going to be a help or a hindrance.”
“Do you need to stay behind?” I sat up and looked him in the eye. “Be honest.”
He ran a hand through his hair, digging his fingers into his scalp. “I can’t sit here and let you go up there alone. I can tell the difference between what is a replay and what is reality. I may be useful, in the end.”
“Not what I asked you.” All at once, it was hard to swallow and the room grew hot. “Haven? Answer me.”
“You can’t rely on me.” His voice was hoarse, and barely audible. “We need to take someone else with us, besides Gabriel. Just in case.”
His arms slipped around my waist and he pulled me against him, squeezing tight. “Just don’t leave me behind, okay? I can’t stand that.”
I licked my lips. “If you think that, maybe you should stay here.”
“I’m just being overly cautious.”
“You can’t take it back now, Haven. There’s nothing wrong with staying here.”
He released me and glared. “Cain doesn’t understand your gifts. Gabriel I don’t trust. You’re not leaving here without me.”
“Fine.” I took a deep breath. “But if you cause problems, I reserve the right to knock you over your head and toss you back downstairs.”
“Deal.”
“You two are getting too mushy for words,” Grant said, flopping into a chair next to us. “I’m feeling ill just watching you.”
I stuck out my tongue.
“Shouldn’t you be helping George out?” Haven asked, refusing to let me off his lap when I tugged on his hand.
Grant rolled his eyes. “Chill, lover boy. George sent me over here. He’s flipping out over one of the cameras. It keeps fuzzing out.”
Though he kept his sarcasm, I could see the tiny line between his brows. His eyes kept flicking back to the computer bank and George’s face, illuminated blue in the glow from the screens.
“What is it showing?” Haven’s hands finally relaxe
d their hold and I slid onto the seat next to him.
“I think it’s the group in the back room.” Grant hooked his arm behind his head. “I thought this would be hard, but I didn’t count on it being this hard.”
Mom stood up, and every eye in the room, including George, focused on her. She stepped closer. Light from the lanterns played with her features. Her nose seemed broader. Her chin more defined. She’s nearly gone. My eyes burned. I’ll lose her and no one will even know the difference.
Haven straightened, scooted to the edge of his seat. Mom crouched next to Grant. “Poor baby. Did you think this would be like a nightmare you could just wake up from?” She clicked her tongue. “Even if you left this house now, I would haunt you forever. Even better, I would enjoy it.”
Before I could speak, Haven stood. But he froze when Bryan appeared on our right. His hands were clenched into fists, the white knuckles glowing in the dark. “Leave him alone.”
I expected Mom to laugh. She didn’t. Instead, she rose, then took a tiny step back. Her shadowy features watched him closely. For the first time, I wondered what Bryan knew the rest of us could not. He’d been plagued by the spirits here for years. They’d learned the way in and out of his head after their contact with him so many years ago. Their influence had been light, but steady.
What did the thing inside my mother fear he knew?
I couldn’t ask, because Gabriel, Cain, and Laura burst back into the room. Deon and Julia followed close behind. They’d been in the kitchen doing some base readings. All of them panted, their faces pale in the dim room.
“What the hell happened?” George demanded.
Cain shook his head, gulping for air like a drowning man. “We got locked in.”
Laura slid down the wall near the door, her face in her hands. “This place is insane. In every sense of the word.”
“We’ve established that,” George said, rising. “But the cameras in there keep fuzzing in and out. Did the portables catch anything?”
Gabriel dropped to the sofa. “Who the hell cares?”
Haven surprised me, moving away to take Gabriel’s camera from him. He messed with the screen and buttons, then sighed. “They got some of it, but it isn’t clear exactly what happened.”
“Again, why does it matter?” The irritation had leaked out of his words. Now he sounded only curious.
“Because if we can see what’s going on, we can keep it from happening again.”
“Here? Or somewhere else?”
Haven shrugged. Gabriel didn’t pursue it.
“We’ve managed to get through the downstairs.” Julia said. “Thank God Deon and I had the extra keys. Before anyone does anything else, we need you to check and see if we’ve missed anything down here.”
All eyes turned to me. The clock on the second floor struck in the silence, the sound bouncing around. Mocking me, it seemed, with those deep peals. Eleven o’clock. If we hadn’t done what we needed, there was little chance we’d be able to finish.
“Why do we have to do all this? Why not just try and call them up individually?” Deon asked. “I’ve been involved in a few of those. They work, though they take some time.”
Haven shook his head. “There’s too many.”
“They’re connected,” I said.
“What?” Grant asked.
Even Haven turned and looked at me.
“They’re all kept here by Horace and her. All the spirits have to be in one place, or we’ll be totally ineffective. They can’t leave unless she releases them.”
“But it doesn’t make any sense. No one spirit can have so much power.” Deon clenched and unclenched his hands.
Gabriel groaned and stood. “Yes, it does. She’s right.”
Cain sighed, rubbing a finger over the bridge of his nose. “Technically, when we go through the rooms we’re exorcizing them. But they aren’t leaving. They’re just heading into rooms we haven’t gone to yet. We’re herding them, because they can’t escape.”
“Well, hell.”
“You can say that again,” Grant told him.
Cain moved behind the computer bank with George. “Take a breather. If anyone needs something from the kitchen, take a friend or two. We’ll start upstairs in about ten minutes. Julia and Laura need to restock their batteries.”
Deon snagged Grant’s shirt. “Come on, man. You and Haven can come with me. We’re headed for snacks, drinks, and the bathroom. Not necessarily in that order.”
“I’ll come along.” Gabriel grunted, dropping his equipment, except for the worn leather book, and followed them.
Haven started and I caught at his hand. “Are you sure this is a good idea?”
He looked from me to Deon and back. “Yeah. It’ll be fine.”
Suspicion gnawed at me. “You guys aren’t planning to go macho on us, are you?”
“Of course not. You come as far as the hall and check to see how we’re doing. Then we’ll go on to the kitchen. It should be fine if we’ve managed to clear this floor, right?”
Hesitant, I nodded. “I think so. Though I don’t know how it will be for you. Your gift isn’t tied to the ghosts.”
Haven shrugged. “No time like the present to find out, right?”
He was being too casual. I followed them out in the hall, leaning against the wall. I didn’t wait for anyone to ask me, I just closed my eyes and cracked open the mental doors around my head.
I flinched. Above me, I could see the spirits, restless points of dark light, pushing against the barriers we’d set up. The silence around me was almost as oppressive as the ghosts’ energy. While I couldn’t hear them clearly, I could feel them pounding to get in like a physical reaction. As if I traveled at high elevations without being able to pop my ears.
I closed myself off and threaded my fingers through my hair. “They’re out of here for now, but they don’t like it. We don’t have forever. If they push hard enough for long enough, they’ll undo everything.”
Deon glanced upward, his body relaxing a bit. “All right then. Tell Cain what you found. We’ll be back in a few minutes.”
***
By the time they returned, Cain had already decided I would remain downstairs until they got to the third floor. He expressed concern over Haven when I asked him to come with us to the last floor. He’d agreed, but with a condition. He wanted Haven with him when they moved through the third floor.
I related all this to Haven when he returned with the others. I expected him to argue. Instead, he nodded once and accepted a camcorder from George.
Grant rose. “I’m going too.”
“Grant—”
He shook his head, his mouth in a tight line. Fear glittered in his eyes, but so did determination. “I’m not going to sit here like a baby all night, Claire. Bryan has plenty of watchers. He’s not going anywhere. I have to do this, or I’ll feel like a coward.”
I looked at Haven, holding out my hands. “Talk to him.”
Giving me an apologetic grin, he lifted one shoulder. “If he says he needs to do this, he needs to. He’ll be all right. We’ll make sure.”
Anger sparked in my gut. “You three better make sure he does, or I’ll make those ghosts the least of your problems. And you,” I turned to my brother, poking at his chest with one finger. “Don’t be stupid.”
“Chill, Sis. You’re panic is showing.” When I would have argued more, he interrupted me. “No. You aren’t going to let anyone else go to the fourth floor are you?”
“It’s not the same.”
“Sure it is. You’re only taking someone because we insist. So you’re going to be quiet and let me go. After all, you’re not my mother.”
Crossing my arms, I glared at him. They left then, without anything else to be said. Julia came over, offering a small smile.
“They’ll be all right. We sent more of them than before, besides”—her smile faded, and her voice grew softer—“I think everyon
e can tell they’re waiting for you.”
I blinked.
“I’m a little psychic. Not much. Normally, I can’t feel much of anything. But tonight…” She leaned against the edge of the couch. “Things are different.”
“They want us, but they need you more.” Bryan sat near us, staring off into space, his fingers worrying at the edge of his shirt. I don’t even think he knew he spoke to us.
“Excuse me, my dear jailers, but I’m afraid I’m in need of the facilities.” Mom stood near us, a strange twist to her lips. “I’m sure you’re going to require an escort.”
Deon scooted away from his place changing batteries. “Come on, Julia. We’ll stop by the kitchen. I want to take those base readings one more time, since we were interrupted before. We’ll take her and get her on the way back.”
They left, and I retreated to the other side of the room, mulling over things in my head. It wasn’t until much later anyone noticed anything strange. Nearly a half hour later, Haven came back in with a haggard looking Gabriel and flopped onto the couch.
Grant sagged against the doorframe, then frowned. “Where did Mom go?”
I started. “What?”
“She was here when I left. Where did she go?”
I blinked. “Deon and Julia took her to the bathroom on their way to redo the baseline readings.”
My heart sped up. Deon and Julia looked at each other and stood. “Crap. We thought she’d come back before us.”
Her rocking chair was empty. She hadn’t returned. Guilt flooded me. “Shit. I didn’t even notice.”
We grabbed flashlights and headed out, calling her name. After five minutes that seemed like hours, a shout from upstairs had us running. I flew around the third floor landing, toward the tower room. Someone inside groaned.
We ran in, finding Haven and Cain creeping up the metal spiral steps. The whole structure swayed under their weight. Beneath, Gabriel and Grant watched, both unloading what they carried into a small pile. Mom was draped across three or four of the stairs near the top, illuminated in Grant’s quivering flashlight beam. Blood dripped down her forehead.
A Whispered Darkness Page 27