Cursed: Paranormal Women's Fiction (Mid-Life Haunts Book 1)

by Nhys Glover

  She smiled her agreement, those stars getting even brighter. I bet she’d agree to stay another week, if it meant seeing Doctor McDreamy every day.

  Within an hour we had Lauren into Hilary’s clothes and out of the hospital. I could see the wonder in Lauren’s eyes as she took in the bright blue sky overhead. What must it have felt like to be stuck in a cellar for days on end, never knowing if she’d ever get to feel sunshine on her skin again?

  With a little help, Lauren slid into the passenger front seat while Faith took the back. I climbed in behind the wheel and put the car in drive. I was so ready to leave the hospital behind. The number of ghosts I could feel around me had been claustrophobic. It was why yesterday had been so draining for me. I couldn’t imagine what Faith was feeling, given she could actually see them.

  “You okay, honey? Are they all gone now?” I asked her over my shoulder.

  “The ghosts?” she checked, even though she knew what I meant.

  “Yep. I feel a hell of a lot warmer now. How about you?” I asked matter-of-factly.

  “Yeah, we left them all inside. But I don’t feel cold around them. I just see them. I can’t even hear them when they talk to me, like you can.”

  “It’s not really talking. It’s more… just knowing. It seeps into my consciousness, often in images and feelings. No one actually talks to me. That would be a lot easier. Sometimes I have a hell of a time trying to sort out what they want.”

  Lauren was studying me through narrowed eyes. More narrow, as hers were already swollen almost closed.

  “You really are like her? You aren’t lying?” she demanded.

  “I really am. Why else do you think Herbert and his crazies have it in for me? Other than the curse, of course.”

  “Curse?” Lauren asked, intrigued.

  I spent a little time explaining about the prophecy and how I had activated the curse. I glossed over the events that led to the tainting. Faith, at least, was too young to hear about that. And I didn’t really want my vulnerabilities revealed to a girl who might use them against me somewhere along the way. At the moment, Lauren was an unknown. She was volatile and suspicious of everyone. Which was all perfectly normal after what she’d been through. But it did mean she was likely to act out. And I didn’t want to give her ammunition to use against me if she chose to do so.

  12

  “Show me how you do it?” I heard Michael say a few days later from the kitchen where he and both girls sat.

  He was having Lauren show him her talent for moving objects by getting her to roll a pencil across the smooth wooden surface of the table. It was simple stuff for a capable telekinetic but was still a feat other people were incapable of mastering.

  I stood in the doorway watching as the girl moved her finger, which was nowhere near the table. The pencil began its roll. There was no sluggishness or uncertainty about the movement. It was as if a finger had really set it in motion.

  Lauren looked a hundred percent better than she had when she was released from hospital three days ago, and the sunny smile she now wore only added to the impression. But there were still too many bilious colored bruises on her skin and her eyes were still puffier than they should be. It would be a while before she was anywhere near back to being healthy and happy.

  Actually, I had a feeling Lauren had never been happy, not even when her parents were alive. From the scraps I’d overheard her telling my kids, her biological dad had taken off before Faith was born. The girls had concluded that he was the one who’d given them their abilities, because their mother had none, nor did she have any knowledge of such talents from others in her family.

  The girls were careful not to let their mother see too much, especially when she married a guy who was afraid of the unexplained. It seemed that Lauren had lived in constant fear that her stepfather would find out what she could do and send her away. And when Faith’s ability to see ghosts activated at an early age, she'd had to work twice as hard to keep the little girl from giving herself away.

  It was a childhood filled with the fear of discovery and the desire to be normal like everyone else. And then when she was sixteen her parents were killed in a car crash and she and Faith had been fostered to the Joneses. That only amped up her fear of discovery, which eventually ended with her accidentally revealing herself.

  Because I’d studied my share of psychology in my spare time, to be the best mom possible and to find a way to free myself from my own demons, I knew that there was a good chance Lauren had unconsciously chosen to give herself away. That when the pressure to keep a secret grew too great, a release of any kind was preferable. It was why serial killers often made silly mistakes that got them caught after years of successfully avoiding detection. Suspense was excruciating over extended periods.

  Finding herself in a fundamentalist church probably didn’t help Lauren’s stress levels. Hearing Pastor Herbert spewing hell and damnation every week in church would have made her doubts blossom. She might even have started to believe she might be infested with a demon.

  What a horrible life.

  I was determined that Lauren was never going to have to doubt the goodness of her gift again. Or devalue it. And clearly Michael had the same idea, because the oohs and aahs coming from him had me fighting back a smile.

  “Okay, can I try?” he said. “What do I do again?”

  “Just focus on the object and tell it to move. Not out loud. In your head,” Lauren said, sounding like a stuffy teacher with a particularly dumb student.

  Michael held out his hand and scrunched up his face in concentration. I actually wondered if he hoped he might discover some long-hidden talent if he just tried hard enough.

  After both girls sat quietly watching Michael try and fail to move the pencil for a few minutes, they sat back.

  “It’s okay, Michael. Faith can’t do it either. Nobody can but me. It makes me the weirdo, not you,” Lauren assured him.

  “You wouldn’t say that if you lived in this family all your life. Being magical is the norm here, and not being magical makes you the weirdo. Testosterone is a definite draw back. Mom says it has something to do with the connections between the right and left hemispheres of the brain. We guys don’t have enough. But I think women just wanted the magic all for themselves so they worked out a way to keep it from us,” Michael said, sounding only half joking.

  “There is no conspiracy to keep you weak and unmagical, I can assure you,” I said jokingly, as I made my presence known for the first time.

  Both girls looked my way. Faith smiled joyously and raced over to wrap her little arms around my waist. Lauren smiled cautiously, her expression still guarded whenever she saw me.

  “You trying to get Lauren to teach you her skill?” I asked Michael matter-of-factly.

  “She’s trying, but I’m a dud. I don’t know why I even bother,” Michael complained, his expression mutinous.

  He was playing to his audience, I could tell.

  “You bother because you like the attention,” Hilary announced, entering the kitchen from the mudroom where the washing machine and dryer were located.

  From the sound of it, she’d just put a load on.

  “You’re just jealous because I get all the attention!” Michael threw back playfully.

  “You don’t. I talk to Hilary as much as I do you,” Faith volunteered, racing from me to Hilly, and giving her a welcoming hug.

  I had discovered quickly that Faith was a very demonstrative and loving child. She couldn’t help showing affection every opportunity she got. And every time she did, she stole my heart a little more.

  The woman from Child Services had come to the house the first day, and after checking all the paperwork that proved the land was not a danger to the girls, and after checking out the accommodation, agreed to make their stay temporary until I could apply to foster them permanently. As they still had a father somewhere, there was no possibility of adoption. But fostering until they turned eighteen was a possibility. />
  Lauren had seemed happy enough with the news, more because of Michael than for any other reason. With him she was like a lost puppy desperate for the attention of any passing human. Was I that bad when I was her age? If so, no wonder I was such an easy mark for Jake Killian.

  Which reminded me that I still needed to have ‘the talk’ with my son. Right now, I knew he was on his best behavior because Lauren was so badly beaten. But she was seventeen, and her body was that of a woman, even if she was short and still desperately thin. How long would it be before Michael started noticing and making a move on her? The last thing I needed was a broken-hearted teen on my hands. I didn’t care what the kids these days thought about hooking up, I wasn’t risking having my family torn in half by it.

  But there was time for all that. And still so much else to contend with.

  Which was why, in ten minutes, I would be sitting down with Pete Saunders to discuss my security needs. I’d been on tenterhooks for days waiting for him to call and then agree on a date to meet. He was a very busy man, it seemed, and I was not high on his priority list.

  The Joneses and four other members of the church who had participated in the brutal exorcism had all been arraigned and held over without bail until the DA could negotiate a plea bargain. It wasn’t enough that they had all proudly admitted their parts in the crime that had almost led to the death of a young girl, there had to be evidence supporting their confessions. Lauren and Faith’s evidence, as well as mine and the sheriff’s, had gone a long way to give probable cause, but the fact Jake had entered the property without a warrant was a sticking point. More legal wrangling would take place before the whole horrible thing could be put behind us.

  But for all that, life at Channing Manor had been good. Michael spent less time in the attic and more time entertaining the girls. Hilary seemed to have made it her goal to make up for the treatment they’d received by mother-henning them almost constantly. We had both taken them to Walmart in Franklin so they could shop to their heart’s content. While Hil helped Lauren with her selections, I got the fun of helping Faith pick out her new clothes. The utter delight the girl showed at each purchase made me glad for the inheritance I’d gotten from mom.

  Yes, I would have preferred it if Mom hadn’t died. But if she hadn’t, I wouldn’t have been back at Channing to get a visit from a distressed Miz Millie. And Lauren… Well, Lauren would likely be dead. How much longer after that would it have been before Faith became the target? Without her sister, she probably wouldn’t have been able to keep her secret for long.

  Every time I thought about that possibility my blood went cold in my veins. I was determined to make sure Pastor Herbert never got the chance to hurt another child again. There had to be evidence somewhere that he had orchestrated the whole exorcism. It didn’t make sense that his sheep would take action without his direct approval.

  The doorbell rang, and I turned for the front door. “This will be Mr. Saunders. I want you all to meet him, okay? He needs to know what the situation is, in as much detail as possible. And he needs to know who needs protecting.

  “I don’t,” Michael snapped, puffing up in offense.

  “No, but you need to coordinate with these men and work with them. If that makes sense?” I asked, trying for patience.

  Lauren looked adoringly up at Michael. “Yes, work with them. It will be better that way.”

  He nodded solemnly, as if he were a knight and she was a damsel who had just tied her handkerchief to his jousting pole. He would do this for her, but only her.

  I smothered a snigger and turned away before they noticed. I suddenly felt very old. Had I ever been that serious about my part in the world as these teens were? Very probably.

  Ten minutes later, I was sitting across from a grizzled old Vet, having just finished filling him in on our situation and what I believed we needed. Through it all Saunders had sat silently watching me through narrowed eyes, as if he wasn’t quite sure what to make of me.

  “So this church thinks you and your family are witches, and they’ve already tried to burn your mother out. Some of them have confessed to attempting to perform an exorcism on one of your girls and are now in jail facing attempted murder charges. But you don’t think it will end there. Have I got that right? You think they’ll try to grab the girl or someone else in this house.”

  I nodded. “Lauren isn’t actually my girl. I didn’t know her before a few days ago. Although I am in the process of becoming her foster mother. The same for Faith. But the rest of what you said is correct.”

  “Jake tells me these parishioners aren’t the only ones who think you’re witches. How do you know the threat only comes from this one church?” he asked.

  I shrugged. “I don’t, to be honest. I think the state of my land, and the way the blight is obviously spreading, has alienated the whole district. I don’t blame people. It is frightening. But I’m doing everything in my power to find the answers. My mother dedicated the last quarter century to doing just that. Now it’s my turn.

  “But when people are afraid, they act out. And while being driven out of my home would not be the end of the world, I’m afraid that if they succeed, then this thing will just keep spreading.”

  He looked troubled for a moment. “And the EPA can’t find anything wrong? No fracking? No illegal toxic dumping further up the mountain?”

  “If that were the case it would show up in the soil or water. Even the air. There’s nothing. They even checked the electro-magnetic radiation. It’s all absolutely normal.”

  “So how will you fix it?” he asked.

  “If I knew, I would have done it already. I think it’s magical in nature and magic will be the only thing that’ll fix it.” I raised my hand as I saw him roll his eyes. “And yes, I know how insane that makes me sound. But magic is just a form of energy that science has yet to understand. In the past, lightning was seen as magical and sent by the gods. Now we know differently. I think eventually science will come up with an explanation for magic. Until then, I’ll call it a curse that needs to be lifted by me.”

  He frowned, rubbed his chin, and then nodded. “When Jake first told me about this gig I thought he was pulling my leg. I’m not into magic, even the top hat and wand kind a magic. But I can see that you’re in a difficult situation because of your beliefs, and I’m a strong believer in the right of every American to worship and believe as they choose, as long as it don’t harm nobody else.

  “Which is where these other folk come in. They’re harming others. So we need to stop ‘em. I can put together a plan that’ll help. It won’t be cheap, especially if this situation goes on a while.

  “I’ve got a couple of men I’d like to bring in to live on-site. You have guest quarters over the garage, right?” he asked.

  I nodded. “Yes. I know Gran had an old couple living there when I was really little. It hasn’t been used since, I don’t think. But we can make it livable.”

  “Good. Having a presence on-site 24/7 will make a difference. As will surveillance cameras and an alarm system. You and your family will have to follow a strict set of guidelines. The last thing we need is a kid getting rebellious and going off the RES without permission.”

  “Let me introduce you to my family, Mr. Saunders, so you can explain that to them. It’ll have more impact coming from you than me. I am, after all, just the mom,” I said without a hint of bitterness.

  I knew what it was to be a rebellious teen. I was lucky neither of my kids had ever felt the need to rebel. But they still could, as could Lauren or Faith. If having Saunders put the fear of god into them would keep them safe then I was all for it. No pun intended.

  “My husband can help,” Hilary said as Saunders laid out the guidelines to them. “He’s Special Forces and due back from deployment soon. He can help.”

  “Not if you go away to have your baby,” I jumped in. “Remember, for safety sake, you aren’t going to be staying here in the last month of your pregnancy. Or the first mo
nth or more after you give birth, either.”

  “I’m just six months gone. I have four more to go. Three, before I have to leave. We’ll have this curse lifted and Herbert and his crew neutralized by then,” she said staunchly.

  Saunders shook his head, smiling in admiration as he did so. Hilary did that to men, especially fighting men. It was why Clay had fallen so hard, so quickly. Plucky, beautiful women were catnip to men like him.

  “Once you have a date for his return we’ll build your man into the plan. How’s that sound?” he asked her.

  Hilary jerked a nod. “Good enough. I know he’ll be useful.”

  “I bet he will. And motivated. Although sometimes when you have a lot riding on a situation a man can lose his focus.”

  “I can help too,” Michael said, lifting his chin. “I have a brown belt in taekwondo. And if someone taught me to shoot I’d–”

  “I don’t want you handling a gun,” I said quickly.

  Before Michael could argue, Saunders spoke up. “I believe all kids should know how to use firearms safely. But having one is a different matter. Too many things can go wrong if you haven’t had extensive training. A bump in the night could have you shooting your sister before you realized it was her.”

  Michael looked ready to argue, but Saunders silenced him with a look.

  By the time the crusty old Vet left, my kids, new and old, were aware of the stakes and committed to following the stringent rules being set down for them. I kept telling them that it wasn’t forever. Life would get back to normal eventually. We just had to work together to get there.

  Another week passed as Lauren and Faith settled in, and so did Karl and Fred, Saunders’ security men. Mary and Hayley had come out to give me a hand getting the flat over the garage ready for habitation, and it had been a wonderful chance to catch up and have a laugh with people who had been so important to me in my youth.