As we got to the corner, I saw what it was.
“A balloon animal,” I said.
“I’m calling your uncle,” Payne said. “No arguments.”
I didn’t say a word. I could hear Uncle Mark’s exasperated voice from the other side of the phone.
“We can’t stop,” I said. “Not yet.”
“I’m not stopping,” Grandpa said. “And since we’re nowhere near Spirit, he can’t arrest me, although he might try. You two want out?” He glanced back to the guys.
Archer and Payne quickly said no.
“Ha,” Grandpa responded. “Who knew McKnight boys could be so much fun?”
As we went further, we passed several neighborhoods, and then hit a long stretch of road. After a few more minutes, we came across a farmhouse. Then I saw where we needed to go.
“Stop there,” I said, pointing to the farmhouse. “Pull up the driveway.”
Grandpa did as I asked.
“It doesn’t look like anyone is using the land,” Archer said first.
“No,” I answered. “But it’s isolated. No place would deliver here.”
The car came to a stop and everyone got out.
“How do we know this is the right place?” Archer asked. “There’s nobody here.”
I started walking towards the house.
“She’s how,” I said, pointing at the front steps.
I walked up to the little girl, who was sitting on the front steps. She was still in her pink bathrobe and bunny slippers, and was playing with the balloon animal she’d been holding before.
“Hello,” I said. “You must be Heather.”
She looked at me and smiled.
“Hi,” Heather answered. “Daddy’s really sorry he scared you. I can’t believe you’re afraid of clowns. I love clowns.”
“I know,” I said. “Are you here for Seth?”
Heather nodded.
“I wanted to talk to him,” she said. “And to give him this.” She held up the balloon animal. It was a dog. “But I forgot that just because he can see me, doesn’t mean that I can give it to him. Silly me.” She giggled.
“I’ll make sure he gets one,” I said.
“Seth likes dogs,” Heather said. “He wishes he can have one. Do you like—”
She cut off and looked scared.
“What’s the matter?” I asked.
Then I heard the low rumble of thunder, followed by a low, sinister hissing that made my skin crawl. The Shadow Creatures.
“Hurry,” Heather said. “You’ve got to get him. Now!”
“The Shadow Creatures are here,” I announced. I looked around for Heather, but she had disappeared. Payne and Archer were by my side in an instant. The wind was kicking up. Lightning streaked through the sky.
“What do we do?” Archer asked.
“Heather says we need to get Seth now,” I said. “I know we should wait for my uncle, but—”
Archer and Payne looked towards Grandpa. He gave them a nod.
“Let’s see what you boys can do,” he said.
Archer marched up to the foot of the porch and stared at the door. He concentrated and held his right hand up. I could feel the hum of power build within him.
BANG! The front door blew open, and we piled inside. Archer led the way. Payne stayed near me, and Grandpa came in behind us. I headed into the kitchen and tried to remember which way the basement door was.
“Well,” Archer said as he opened up a small door. “No wonder they eat take-out all the time. Look what’s in their pantry.”
I looked over and saw dozens of large, tightly packed bags of white powder, one piled on top of the next.
“Is that drugs?” I asked.
“It ain’t baby powder,” Grandpa said. “But we’re not here for a drug bust. Where’s Seth?”
The kitchen looked like it hadn’t been cleaned well in years, although I didn’t get the feeling they cooked much. The counters were stained with a variety of different color stains and there were crumbs on nearly every flat surface. There were none of the little doodads that people put in their kitchen to give it personality. No pictures or magnets on the fridge, no plates or other decorations on the grimy walls. I looked around and saw the door that one of the twins had gone through. I grabbed the handle, but it was locked.
“Stand back,” Archer said.
I retreated back to the other end of the kitchen with Payne and Grandpa, while Archer concentrated again.
BANG!
We went through the door and down the stairs. We found the gym.
“Grandpa,” I said as he came down the stairs. “Are you okay? Do you want to stay here?”
Grandpa shook his head.
“I’m not letting you go anywhere without me,” he said. “Besides, I haven’t had this much fun in years. Where’s that hidden door you were talking about?”
I pointed to the mirror on the back wall.
Payne ran over and pulled it off and Archer took his position. It was a heavy-looking metal door, so Archer had to use more force this time.
BANG!
The door buckled in on itself, but it still blocked the way. Archer looked a bit peeved.
Payne glanced at Archer. “Arch, use both hands.”
Archer brought up both hands and concentrated again.
BANG!
This time, the doorway split in two, and the pieces flew down the stairs. Archer slowly led the way down. As we walked, I heard the hiss of the Shadow Creatures again, but they sounded different than they had in the past. Their cries seemed weaker.
We reached the last door. Without waiting, Archer took aim and blew the door open.
Immediately, I pushed by him and ran inside.
There he was, shivering with fear, curled into a corner.
“Seth,” I said. “We’re not going to hurt you. We’re going to get you out of here.”
I moved closer, but he whimpered and tried to inch further away.
“Seth,” I said again. I kept my voice calm. “Listen to me. I talked to Barry. He was here to see you. He was a clown. Remember? He wanted me to come help you.”
Slowly, Seth looked up at me. “Bristol?”
He knew my name?
“Yes,” I said. “That’s me.”
Slowly, Seth got up. He looked around and saw the faces of the others.
He ran to me and I held him in my arms for the first time.
Chapter Nine
Rescuing Seth
Archer rushed forward and stripped off his jacket. He went to place it around Seth, but stopped when the young boy jumped back. Instead, he handed me the jacket.
“It’s okay,” I said as I placed the jacket around Seth. “This is Archer. He’s my friend. And that’s my other friend Payne by the door.” I said and pointed.
“Oh, are we back to friends again?” Payne said with smile.
I laughed a little, more for Seth’s benefit than anything else.
“And this,” I continued, “is my grandfather.”
“Hey there, kid,” Grandpa said, leaning on his cane. “Are you hurt at all?”
Seth didn’t answer, he just shook his head.
“My uncle’s on his way,” I told him. “Nobody is going to hurt you again.”
Seth looked at me.
“He told me you’d come,” he said. “I didn’t believe him.”
“Who told you?” Payne asked.
Seth looked towards Payne. He looked too frightened to interact with anyone except me. I didn’t expect him to answer, but after a second, his face became terrified. He pointed towards the door and screamed. “Look out!”
I looked up just in time to see one of the twins grab Payne from behind. I felt a wave of heat as if someone had just opened the door to an oven pre-warmed to six-hundred degrees. Payne screamed as flames engulfed him, and collapsed to the floor in a smoldering, burning heap.
The other twin dashed forward and swiped his hand through the air sharply, catapulting Payne off the floor. Pa
yne smashed into the wall beside me. When he crashed to the ground, I could tell his neck was broken.
The twins laughed as they stood side by side, their handsome faces and short, brown hair made them undisguisable from each other. Their dark, blue eyes locked on mine.
“You’ve got something that belongs to us,” the twin who had sent Payne flying said. “I don’t know who you are, but you made a big mistake coming here.”
He held his hand out towards me and Seth. I pushed Seth behind me just as Archer moved in front of me, his hand already out.
Both Archer and the twin punched their fists through the air at the same time. There was a double bang that rattled the walls, causing dust to fall. Archer flew back into the back wall, while the twin he’d been fighting was launched backwards through the door towards the stairs. Apparently, Archer’s power was bigger than the twin’s.
The flame twin’s eyes bulged as he saw his brother. He was shocked that Archer had a power. He looked completely dumbfounded and stared at his brother struggled to get up. His reaction gave me a chance to run. I reached for the flimsy table that held the little dog picture Seth had drawn, grabbed it, and ran at the flame twin. His gaze shifted to me just as I swung the table and smashed it into his face.
He went down hard. I lifted the table up again and brought it down on him with all my strength. He cried out in pain. I went to hit him a third time, but the board exploded in my face and I was knocked down. The boomer twin had hit me from the hallway; it was just enough to turn the table into splinters and make me fall down near Seth.
The fire twin got up and spat out blood. “You all right, Jack?”
“Yeah,” his brother responded. “You?”
I made a quick mental note. Jake had the fire power, Jack made things go boom.
“I’ll survive,” Jake approached me with a fire ball. “Which is more than I can say for this—”
He never finished his sentence. Archer rolled to his feet and used his ability again, blasting Jake into the other room. Jake’s fireball soared across the room and exploded on Archer’s face.
Archer screamed as he burst into flames.
I screamed and scurried over to him. He’d fallen onto the floor, and the fire was out, but his beautiful face was badly burned.
Grandpa started to head towards us when Jack came into the room. This time, he had both hands up. There was unbridled rage in his eyes. His eyes locked on mine and I knew this blast would be enough to kill me.
Payne tackled him. He was fully healed and furious. He smashed Jack back into the wall, and slammed his fist into Jack’s gut. Jack doubled over. Payne brought his knee up to break his nose, but Jack swung back, so Payne grabbed his arm and sent him swinging face-first into the door frame.
With a savagely sharp twist, followed by a loud snap, Jack screamed as Payne pinned his arm behind his back.
“Get away from my brother!” Jake approached Payne with a large fireball in each hand.
Payne swung Jack around to act as a shield between him and Jake.
“Let him go,” Jake repeated.
“I don’t think so,” Payne growled. “I’m not a little kid.”
Jake roared and erupted in massive amounts of swirling flame. He lashed out, and a whip of flame caught Payne’s exposed shoulder.
Payne was burnt, but he held on.
“I’m going to burn you to ashes,” Jake yelled. “And when I’m done I’ll toast your buddy and the old man. But I’ll slow roast the girl—”
His words were cut off by gunfire; three shots that hit him in his chest. He fell forward and his flames went out forever.
“Jake!” His twin called out for his fallen brother. “Jake!”
Jack struggled against Payne, but Payne wasn’t letting him get his arm free.
Uncle Mark came down the stairs, his sidearm out. He checked Jake for a pulse then moved away.
“This one has an explosive ability,” Payne was still struggling with Jack. “He can’t have his hands free.”
Uncle Mark nodded. Behind him, Agent Williams came in with his handcuffs. Varick followed.
“Archer’s hurt,” I yelled, getting Varick’s attention. I went over to Archer to see if I could help. The back of his head was bleeding. His face was burnt beyond recognition. I was pretty sure he had internal bleeding.
Archer was starting to come to, reaching out—blind and in agony. “B- B- Bristol,” he groped around the floor. “Is Seth—?”
“We’re fine,” I said to him.
Grandpa stumbled over, with Varick close behind.
“Let me see him,” Grandpa dropped his cane as he came down hard on his knees. Reaching his hand out for Archer’s chest, Grandpa closed his eyes for a moment, nodded to himself, and then looked up at Varick. “He’ll be okay. Don’t worry, Varick. I’ve got this.”
Grandpa closed his eyes once more and concentrated hard. Archer convulsed on the floor. I felt his muscles flare, but when I looked towards his face, it was healing. Grandpa stiffened and winced just as Archer began to relax.
Archer’s eyes darted around the room, checking to make sure everyone was all right. They settled on Payne.
“Holy cow,” Archer said. “Is that what healing feels like for you? Because it hurts.”
Payne smiled and helped Grandpa sit up.
“Thank you,” Varick said. “Gregory, I owe you once again.”
Grandpa just shook his head. “You don’t owe me nothing. Both times, your boys saved my girl. If anything, I owe you.”
I had no idea why Grandpa was always nicest right after he used his ability to heal, but it was sweet. It also never lasted long.
“Now,” Grandpa said. “Can we go home, or do we actually have to sleep at that palace tonight?”
“Bristol,” Uncle Mark looked furious as he approached, his eyes narrowed and angry.
“Yell at me later, please,” I said. “Where’s Seth?”
I looked around and saw that he was back in his corner, staring at me, shaking like mad and white as a sheet.
I slowly walked over to him and knelt down. “It’s over,” I told him. “You’re safe.”
Seth shook his head.
“Seth,” I said. “You can trust me. Please.”
I could tell he wanted to, but he was terrified. He wouldn’t look me in the eye. Something else caught his attention, from the back of the room.
“It’s okay,” I heard a young voice say. It was the same voice that I’d heard in one of my visions before. The one that sounded oddly familiar. “You can trust her. You can trust them all.”
I followed Seth’s gaze and I gasped.
“What is it?” Payne said, moving forward. “What do you see?”
Everyone was watching me, waiting for me to explain. I held my hand up, waving them back. “It’s Jared.”
The change in their faces was immediate and heartbreaking. Varick reached out into the air for a second before pulling his hand back, very suddenly. Archer struggled to get to his feet, while Payne took a hesitant step in my direction.
“Why would they be here?” Seth asked, directing the question to Jared. “Nobody cares about me.”
“Stop it,” Jared said as he stepped closer. “That’s not true. I care, and so do they. They’re your family.”
Jared came closed and kneeled in front of us.
“Jared,” I said. “Why are you here?”
Jared smiled at me like an old friend.
“Seth needed me,” he said simply. “He’s family.”
“You can really see him too?” Seth asked.
I slowly reached out and took Seth’s hand.
“Bristol can see me too,” Jared said. “She helped me after I was gone. She helped me move on. She was there for me, and now she’ll be here for you.”
Seth nodded. I understood why. He’d been hurt so much and so many times by the living. But the ghosts, they’d never hurt him. He’d trusted them. And if Jared told him he could trust me, it helped.
The fact that I could see the dead gave us common ground.
“Jared,” I said. “You said that Seth is family. Does that mean he’s a McKnight? Were those other two Blackburns?”
Jared shrugged, but smiled. “I really have no idea. Look at me. I don’t have a body anymore. But I’m still family. And now, so is Seth.”
Seth shook his head again. “I don’t have a family.”
“Yes, you do.” Jared told him. “Bristol is your family. And see him?” Jared pointed towards Payne. “That’s my cousin Payne. He’s your family. And so is Archer. And my grandfather. And Bristol’s grandfather, and her uncle. They are all your family. Take care of them for me?”
Seth was trembling, but he nodded.
“It’s time for me to go,” Jared said. “You might see me again.”
“Wait,” I said. “Before you go, do you want to say anything to your family? Give me a message for your mom?”
Jared smiled. “What’s there to say? She knows I love her. And I know she loves me. I can still feel her love. That’s something that never ended. Take care of Seth.”
And in the blink of an eye, Jared was gone.
“Is he gone?” Varick asked, stepping forward. He was blinking in a way that made me think he wanted to cry.
“Yes,” I said as I wiped tears from my own eyes. “What do we do now?”
Payne walked over to me and knelt down right where Jared had been. “We get Seth out of here and give him a home.”
He reached a hand out to Seth who quickly hid behind me.
“Seth,” I said. “Are you ready?”
Slowly, looking at each of us, one by one, he nodded.
We got up. Seth stood close to me, so I put my arms around him. I felt him slowly relax.
The room was still smoking from and the smell of Archer’s burnt flesh still lingered in the air. I picked Seth up and kept his face turned away from Jake’s body on the floor. Outside, I heard sirens approaching as Agent Williams was coming down to us.
“Okay,” He said. “Everyone needs to keep quiet about what happened until I figure out a way to explain all of this.”
“Can you really do that?” Uncle Mark asked.
“I think so,” Agent Williams answered. “I’ve done it before. I have to say, it never fails to amaze me when I work with a member of the McKnight family. I’ve done it a few times. But this...” he gestured around the room with one spread hand. “This takes the cake.”
Vision of Sacrifices Page 11