Saph told her of the idea she got in the library while leafing through the old books on magic and witchcraft and while Jorden wasn’t quite as enthusiastic as he kid, she nodded. “Fine,” she said. “It might work, but the first sign of trouble I want you out of there. Understood?” she questioned.
“Of course,” Saph said with a smile.
Jorden stopped and turned the girl to face her. “I’m not kidding. If something goes wrong and I have to take the time to get you out of harm’s way it could be the opening the demon needs to kill us both. And I don’t know about you, but I’m not ready to be damned for eternity. Do you understand?”
The gravity of the situation seemed to hit Saph full force and her chin quivered a moment before she stiffened her posture and looked at her with complete resolve. “I understand,” she assured.
Jorden nodded and resumed her walk through the woods.
“I don’t understand,” Tony said as they headed down the path towards the cemetery. “If whatever is going to take place is going to do so in the village, why are we going to the mausoleum? What is this grand plan of yours?”
“Because that’s where it dwells,” Jorden said as she picked up her pace. “And for any of us to get off this damned rock we’re going to need to send it back and make sure that it never gets out again.”
“I still don’t understand how you’re going to do that.”
“You did get the exact crystals I requested…right?” she questioned and turned to Saph, “He did get the right crystals…right?”
“Yes, and as many as the store had – I’ll give you the receipt once we get through this,” Tony grumbled.
She smiled back at him. “I know how hokey this is going to sound but crystals are quite powerful. They can give energy and they can trap it. If we can lure the demon to the mausoleum we may have a chance to trap it and keep it there.”
Tony gave her an incredulous gaze. “And you think that you can do this without it finding out?”
Her heart grew heavy and she turned away from him. “No,” she said.
“Then how exactly are you planning on getting the demon to go along?”
“The only way I know how,” she said and forced a calming breath. “Bait.”
Tony laughed. “And you got Matt to agree to this?”
She remained quiet and her silence quieted him as well.
“He doesn’t know?” he questioned after a moment. “How could you not tell him?”
“Because he would have said no, probably gone as far as to haul me down to the boat, tie me up and lock me in the head,” she said. “And this is too important to let personal feelings get in the way. It can save us all.”
“And why do you have to be the one to do it? Why not Matt or myself?” Tony argued further.
“Because you aren’t a freak,” she said candidly. “You have no abilities to sense what is here, even when it can’t be seen.”
Tony snorted. “I’m still having trouble with the fact that you can.”
“You’re not the only one,” she muttered. “My point is there are only two people who can do this. Isis, who is needed in the village, and me. Now believe me when I say that I would rather be doing anything other than this but I don’t have a choice. I’m the one that made contact with it and because of that, I’m the one that has to do this. And if you want to get off this island with your body and soul intact, you won’t mention this to Matt until it’s time.”
Tony’s dark face grew grim and tightened with tension. “This is not a good idea.”
“Maybe not,” she ceded, “but it’s the only idea I have and the only chance that we’ve got.”
Tony was beyond worried, though it hadn’t been the first time since they arrived on the island and he agreed with a silent nod.
“Thank you,” she said. “Now help me get these set up in the mausoleum.”
“I can’t believe that we hadn’t thought of a lunar eclipse,” Matt said and shook his head. “And in just a couple of hours. That doesn’t give us much time.”
“Not much at all,” Isis agreed almost absently.
Matt looked at her and pulled her into a strong embrace. “We’ll get him back,” he assured. “I’m not about to leave this island without him and his soul intact.”
Isis looked into his dark eyes and knew that he spoke the truth as far as he knew it. What he didn’t understand was that in order for Nigel to come back to them, it would probably kill them. She could feel it deep in her bones.
“Exactly how long is this eclipse supposed to last?” Jesse asked.
“From what I can recall from my astronomy class it can last upwards of three hours, though the moon is only fully eclipsed for a fraction of that time,” Ana said. “Of course the duration varies on the distance of the moon from the earth at the time of the eclipse.”
“I’m astronomy illiterate,” Jonas said. “Explain.”
Ana smiled and nodded. “I’m sure you know that the moon’s orbit around the earth is elliptical,” she said.
Jonas shook his head. “It goes around the Earth and has four basic phases. Beyond that, you need to explain.”
“As I said, the moon has an elliptical orbit, not drastic, but it is a bit skewed. When the moon is at its apogee, that is when it’s furthest from the Earth, it passes a bit slower, which in turn will make the eclipse last longer.”
“And what about tonight’s eclipse?” Jesse questioned. “Any guess as to how long it’s supposed to last?”
“According to the paper the time of the eclipse from beginning to end, that is from the first shadow to the last, will be about two hours and forty minutes,” Syd said.
“That’s not very helpful when we don’t know exactly when the crossover is supposed to happen,” Isis said.
“Isobel said the blood moon, I imagine that means when the moon is completely in shadow,” Syd said.
They stood and looked at each other for a moment.
“Come on,” Matt said as he guided Isis with him by his arm around her shoulders. “We need to get to the village.”
Isis nodded and followed Matt and the others out of the cottage.
Matt turned and looked at the haggard and fatigued group. None of them appeared as though they’d slept in days, and for the most part they hadn’t. Each of them was running on little more than caffeine and adrenaline mixed in with the occasional energy bar. Hopefully the surge from the combination would last just a few more hours. After that they could all collapse for days if need be.
Matt’s brow creased and he quickly grew concerned. “Where are Jorden, Saph and Tony?” he questioned.
Jorden had told Isis what she’d had in mind and while Isis held out little hope, she knew that her plan was the only chance they had. “They’re going to meet us at the village,” she said. “Jorden said she wanted to check on something and she took Tony and Saph with her.”
Matt’s face immediately grew red and his jaw painfully clenched. “What?” he questioned. “Why?”
Isis shook her head. “Jorden didn’t say,” she lied, and convincingly so. “Only that it was important and she didn’t have time to stick around and explain. She’s definitely going to meet us in the village,” she lied further.
For a moment Isis wasn’t sure if Matt believed her or not; to be honest lying wasn’t something that came naturally to her and she hated doing it, but this was for Nigel and she would do whatever it took to get him back. She was learning that lesson slowly. With each hour…each minute that passed she started to realize that she needed him. Over the last couple of years he’d become an anchor for her and if she were to lose him, in spite of any friends she may or may not have, she would be more alone than she had ever been before.
“I wish that the two of you would stop ganging up on me,” Matt groused finally then shook his head. “Well we’d better head out if we have any hopes of getting to the village before Nigel.”
“Where is Nigel anyway?” Jesse asked.
&nb
sp; “The last time any of us saw him he was headed up to his bedroom in the cottage,” Jonas said. “If he left he went out a window.”
“I wouldn’t put it past him,” Jesse said.
“He has no reason to sneak out,” Syd said. “As far as he’s concerned we think he’s still Nigel.”
“He’d be a fool not to see that something is going on,” Ana said.
“Perhaps but in almost all cases where a demon is concerned, it is very arrogant and egomaniacal. It is incapable of humility or self-doubt. It thinks that it has the world in the palm of its hand and it has no reason to believe that we are capable of seeing through its ruse. It truly believes that it has us all fooled because it is incapable of believing otherwise,” Syd explained.
“I hope that you’re right,” Jesse said. “Otherwise this will be a short fight.”
They reached the point in the path that would take half of them to the dock and the rest of them to the village. “All right, this is where we separate,” Matt said. “Those of you who aren’t going to the village need to head down to the dock,” he said as he pointed to the path that had widened quite a bit since their arrival.”
No one moved from their position, which not only shocked Matt, but Isis as well.
“What are you waiting for?” he questioned. “Jonas, Ana, Jesse, you all need to go now.”
“No offence, but I’m tired of you telling me what to do,” Jonas said. “I’m sticking this out.”
“I wouldn’t, and won’t, quite put it that way, but we’re staying too,” Jesse said. “We’re a part of this team as much as the rest of you and we want Nigel back just as much. We’ll do whatever it takes to make that happen.”
Ana didn’t say anything, though it was her custom to remain quiet when she was scared or worried about something, but she did nod in agreement.
Matt rubbed his eyes with one hand then threw the other in the air as if in surrender. “This is insane,” he said. “I want as many of you off this damned island as possible. The more of you who stay the harder that will be.”
“Forget it Connelly,” Jonas said as he stepped closer to Matt, “We’re going with you.”
With the lunar eclipse growing nearer by the minute, Matt didn’t have the time to argue and he threw his hands up in frustration while he shook his head.
Grudgingly Matt turned and continued down the path that led to the village. The sun was just about set ahead of them and he picked up the pace.
When they entered the village it was dark and empty, indicating that Jorden and the others were still at the cemetery and Isis started to worry. In all honesty none of them had seen Nigel since earlier that afternoon and she had to wonder if he had snuck out and found Jorden and the others making preparations to send the demon inside of him back to hell.
Isis took a deep breath to calm her nerves and started a meditation technique that she had learned years ago to separate her from her anxiety. It was a brief process but effective.
“Isis,” Matt addressed and placed his hand on her arm.
She jumped before she turned to look at him. The concern twisted with the irritation in his face told her that he’d been calling her for a while and she shook out of her trance. “Sorry,” she said. “Just trying to calm my nerves.”
“Understandable,” he said, “but now we need to get ready and none of us really knows how to do that.”
“We need to make a circle of protection,” she said then pulled the sweet grass and white sage Tony and Ana had gotten back on the mainland, along with a bottle of olive oil from the cottage, from Ana’s bag and found a spot at the edge of the village where she could clearly see the altar and spire. From there she made a circle on the ground with the items large enough to hold herself, along with Matt and the others. “Make sure that you stay within the circle throughout the confrontation. If you step out of it you will open yourself up for attack,” she informed, though wasn’t sure if she believed it or not. To be completely honest, she wasn’t sure that any measure they took would be enough, but it was the only plan they had.
“Now what?” Matt questioned.
Isis couldn’t stop her shrug. “I wish I knew.”
The look on Matt’s face told her that the comment wasn’t quite what he wanted to hear.
“Look,” she said, “I know that you are all looking to me and Jorden for help here, but we’re as new to this as the rest of you. The only difference between you and us is that we have a stronger feel for what’s about to happen.”
“Which is what exactly?” Jonas questioned.
Isis took a breath and looked around until her gaze settled on Syd. “I think that Isobel could tell us more than I can.”
“Si,” the old woman said as she stepped out of the woods.
The woman started to speak and all eyes turned to Syd. “She says that she knows very little, but can tell you what she saw the last time the demon was in the village. The ceremony was not completed but she saw enough to describe.”
“What happened?” Isis asked the old woman, and not Syd.
“It grew hot,” she said through Syd. “And there was a glow that poured from the Earth below the altar. The spire grew hot and unearthly screams called out from beneath the altar. The souls were gathered but nothing happened.”
“Why not? What stopped the ceremony?” Isis questioned, hoping that the woman could give them an answer that would help them.
The old woman shook her head. “I do not know,” she said. “It must have had something to do with what happened at the bell tower. The bell started ringing, Ankou never showed his ugly face.”
Isis started to think. Without further research she could only guess that when Doctor Santini threw himself from the bell tower it was during a lunar eclipse, and fear and dread filled her heart. What if the only way to rid Nigel of the demon that now possessed him was for him to die? More often than not that was the case.
“Was that when the doctor from the asylum jumped from the bell tower?” Matt questioned.
It was both disturbing and comforting at once to know that Matt was thinking along the same lines that Isis was.
“I do not know a doctor,” she said as she started to circle the courtyard of the village, while at the same time making certain that she stayed far from the altar. “It was not long after that I was able to make my escape from the island, though I was unable to go far. The only other place I could call home is as damned as this place is but it was safe so that’s where I stayed and hid.”
“In the EVP we heard a voice call out that he was free and we’re fairly certain that the voice belonged to Doctor Santini. If that’s the case, then the death of the doctor is what ended the ceremony and ended the Doctor’s possession,” Jonas said then grew quiet.
And Isis’s eyes grew wide.
“Don’t even think it,” Matt scowled from across the courtyard. “I will not sacrifice Nigel on a hunch or for any other reason. It isn’t an option.”
“You might not be so quick to think so when your life and the lives of the rest of us are on the line,” Jonas said coolly then tactically added, “including Jorden’s.”
Isis thought that the last comment would send Matt into a heated tirade but he shocked her and the rest of them when he smiled. “Jorden would be the first to agree,” he said then took a couple of steps closer to Jonas. “If you’re having second thoughts about this you can turn around and head back to the boat. No one here would think any less of you.”
Jonas took just one step back and planted his feet. “I’m not going anywhere. My mother died here and I want to make sure that her soul isn’t unjustly ferried to hell. If you want me to leave then you’re going to have to kill me.”
Matt’s mouth twitched into a smile. “Don’t tempt me,” he hissed through a clenched jaw.
Jonas grabbed at his heart and mocked a frown. “You wound me.”
“Gladly,” Matt said and took a step towards the arrogant man, however before he got too far Isis st
epped in between the two.
“As entertaining as this is you need to stop,” she said to Jonas then looked up at Matt’s cocky face, “both of you.”
Matt’s smiled dimmed and he stepped back from Isis.
Isis turned back to the old woman. “Is there anything else you can tell us that might be of some use? Is there a prayer that can stay off the demon?”
The old woman shook her head then shrugged. “I do not know,” she said. “I can only tell you what I saw that night so long ago.”
Of course the woman was already dead and didn’t look well to start, but there was a defeat in her face that ripped at Isis’s soul and she stepped up to the rather solid entity. “We will do our best to free you from this fate,” she said.
The only woman snorted. “I am damned for what my people did here. There is no saving me.”
Isis could feel that the woman was right but Isis refused to give up. “Then hide,” she said. “Stay in Syd; let him protect you.”
The woman looked back at Syd’s, who was already inside the circle of protection, then back at Isis. “I can hide no longer. If this is to be my fate then so it is. I accept what is to come.”
There was a sudden peace in the woman’s face that Isis found just this side of illusory, and when her mind reached out she could feel a darkness hidden within. She began to understand but was not in the position to do anything about it at the moment. When the time was right, however, Isis wouldn’t hesitate to use her advantage.
“Tell me Isobel, do you know how many souls the demon is trying to ferry down?” Jesse asked.
She shook her head. “I do not know the number, only that they are the souls that could not be taken the last time the portal opened along with the others Ankou has gathered along the way. You’ve already seen or felt most of them on the hospital grounds,” she said and shook her head. “So many lost and confused souls,” she said, “they have nowhere to go.”
Isis’s face grew hard and set. “Don’t worry. We’ll help them find their way.”
The Haunting of Isola Forte di Lorenzo Page 33