Six Times a Charm

by Deanna Chase

  A tiny bit of weight lifted from my heart. I squeezed his hand before letting go.

  “All right then. I’ve already got my equipment set up, and John is monitoring the readings. Let’s go.” Ian tilted his head toward me as he moved toward the door. “I’ll have her back as soon as possible. I know she needs to rest, but I don’t want to miss the chance of getting a reading so close to the event.”

  I stood, trying to shake the dizzy feeling, and followed him. When I glanced back, I found Kane on my heels.

  “I’m going also.”

  “I don’t think…” Ian paused when Kane’s face darkened.

  “Don’t think what?” I asked.

  “I’d rather get a reading with just you. It’s more scientific,” Ian said. Kane’s irritation poked at me as Ian continued. “From what I’ve heard, this ghost is really only interacting with Jade. I don’t want to introduce any other elements until I get a clean reading with her.”

  “But you said earlier you wanted a reading with both of us,” Kane countered.

  “Yes, but Jade first, then you,” Ian said.

  Kane continued to look unconvinced.

  I sighed and waved at Pyper, “A little help here?”

  “Come on, Kane, I’ll entertain you while they’re up there.” Pyper grabbed his arm and led him to the couch.

  I strode out the door with Ian close on my heels. When I got to the stairwell of my own apartment, I stopped dead in my tracks and stumbled forward as Ian barged into me. He reached out a strong arm and grabbed me around the middle just before my head bashed into the railing.

  “Oh, sorry, Jade!” Ian turned me toward him. “Why did you stop?”

  I gave him a weak smile. “Just nervous.” Nervous was putting it mildly. My knees started shaking, and my heart felt like it would beat right out of my chest. I took a few deep breaths and grabbed on to the railing.

  Ian took my arm and patted my hand. “It’s all right. Really, I’ve seen a fair number of odd paranormal occurrences. I know what to do if something happens.” He lifted my chin and looked straight in my eyes. “I won’t let anything happen to you. It’ll be all right. I promise.”

  I nodded and let him tug me up the stairs. We stopped just outside my door.

  “Now when we go in, don’t say anything until I ask you to. I’m going to walk you around the room then onto the balcony while I take readings. Okay?”

  I nodded my agreement and followed him inside.

  The investigation was set up in much the same manner it had been during the first recording. Candles burned in a circle around the room. A video camera was set up just to the right of the door, along with an old-fashioned tape recorder. John had two cameras around his neck, a 35mm and a digital camera. He had told me digitals were the preferred choice, but ghosts were known to mess with electronics, causing them to fail. Just like last time. The 35mm was the camera that caught my ghost image.

  Ian steered me to the middle of the room, holding my arm, keeping me close. He cleared his throat and began to speak. “Lord in heaven, please protect us, your children, from harm and possession. We only seek knowledge and not destruction. Amen.” He smiled “Ready?”

  I gave him a small nod.

  “Dear earthbound spirit of apartment three-A. We are here seeking only information and do not wish you harm. If you so choose, please allow us to communicate with you.”

  John handed Ian a small electronic device. Holding it under candlelight, he scribbled a reading in a notebook. He took my hand and walked me slowly around the room, focusing on the electronic readings. The continuous click of the camera cut through the silence as John snapped photo after photo. The conditions with the candlelight were dim. I wondered how he’d get any decently lit pictures without a flash.

  After the third circle I started to get dizzy and was relieved when Ian led me to the balcony. “Stay out here for a minute. I want to get some more readings, and then I’ll have you come back in.”

  I sat down in my chair to wait.

  Ian stepped back inside and let out a loud yelp. I scrambled to my feet and poked my head in the window.

  Ian grabbed my shoulder. “Get in here!”

  A queasy feeling rolled through my stomach as I scanned the room. I saw nothing out of the ordinary. It looked just as it had, except for the expressions on the two men’s faces.

  I stepped in, confused. Ian held up a hand, gesturing for me to wait. John stood in the corner using the 35mm camera, clicking over and over again in rapid succession. He paused to reload and then nodded at Ian.

  Ian, standing just to my left, put a hand on my arm and whispered, “Talk to him.”

  I took a shaky breath, let it out slowly and opened my mouth. No words came out.

  Ian, seeing my struggle, asked, “Have you spoken to him before?”

  ‘Yes.”

  “If you gave him a name or title, use it now.”

  “Damn,” I muttered under my breath. “Oookay. Hello, Mr. Sexy.”

  John chuckled quietly from across the room. I shot him a dirty look, but he didn’t seem to notice. He was still busy snapping away. Click, click. Click, click.

  I focused on talking to my ghost. “It’s been an eventful day, has it not? You must have used a lot of energy picking up all of my beads. Thank you, by the way, for setting them down gently.” The candles flickered a few times then burned bright again.

  I glanced at Ian. He nodded his head enthusiastically, encouraging me to continue.

  “Thank you for the acknowledgment. I assume that was you, flickering the candles?” The candles flickered again, a few of them blowing out entirely. “Yes, I know you’re there. I wish I knew your real name.” The flame on the candle closest to my bed went out.

  “Yes, I know it’s you in my dreams.” I stopped at a loss for words. My skin started to warm, and something soft wrapped around my shoulders. Even though I was sure the gesture was meant as a loving one, hair stood up on the back of my neck. “Is that you? Did you wrap a blanket over my shoulders?” My knees started to tremble and, not trusting myself to stand any longer, I sat on my couch.

  “Keep going,” Ian said softly.

  I closed my eyes and concentrated. “I wish I knew who you were and why you’re here. I get the feeling you don’t know you’re a ghost.” The warmth slid from my shoulders. I shivered. Unwilling to give up, I asked, “What happened to you? Can you tell us? There’s a recording device over by the door. If you stand close to it, we might hear you. Please, we want to help.”

  “Jesus!” John jumped suddenly from his spot near the recorder and scooted closer to Ian.

  “What the hell—” Ian started, but was cut off by the door opening suddenly, with Kane striding in.

  “You’ve got to get down to Pyper’s apartment,” Kane announced, grabbing Ian’s arm.

  “What? No. We’re just getting going here.” Ian glared at Kane. “It’s best if you leave.”

  Ian’s face contorted in pain as Kane gripped harder. “No. Pyper’s in trouble. You need to go, now.”

  “In trouble? What happened?” I demanded. Not waiting for an answer, I ran out the door, took the stairs two at a time and was on the ground floor before I realized no one was following me.

  Chapter 13

  A minute later I burst through the apartment door and found Pyper sprawled out on the floor. Falling to my knees by her side, I placed my palm on her chest. My hand rose as she took in a breath. The dread in my gut eased slightly.

  “Thank God. Pyper? Can you hear me?” She didn’t move as I smoothed her hair back from her closed eyes. Her skin burned. I ran for a cold wet cloth. Once I started to mop her brow, her eyes flickered open.

  “There you are,” I said. “Welcome back.”

  “Jade.” Her eyes filled with tears. “Is he still here?”

  “Who? Kane?” My voice was low and I hoped calming, though my heart was beating hard enough to leap right out of my chest.

  She shook her head, tear
s streaming down her temples.

  “It’s all right now. Shhh. It’s all right.” I moved to cradle her head in my lap and stroked her hair.

  Pyper’s breath came short with silent sobs. She turned her face into my shirt and held on while her body shook. I continued to whisper soothing words until finally she stopped and was silent.

  A muffled sound came from her buried face.

  “Hmmm?” I said.

  “Thank you,” she said in a hoarse voice. She sat up across from me.

  I handed her the cloth and gave her a small smile. “No thanks needed. It’s what friends do.”

  She tried to smile back but failed, turning her head toward the window.

  I got up and headed to the kitchen. I didn’t notice the shaking until I grabbed the tea kettle. After filling it and placing it on the burner, I ran my still shaking hands over my arms. Pyper wasn’t the type of person to break down. I didn’t think anything else could unnerve me more. Searching through the cupboards, I found a new bag of mint Milano cookies. After arranging the cookies on a plate, I set it on a tray along with the tea and headed back into the living room. Pyper sat curled up at the end of the couch.

  I set the tray down and handed her a mug. “Here, drink this.”

  She took the mug but neglected to take a sip and stared into the contents. After a few moments, I held out a cookie. “This might help.”

  She glanced up but sat unmoving.

  “If you don’t want it, I’m eating it. This is not the time to turn down chocolate.”

  She made a move for it, but I bit into it before she could grab it.

  “Bitch,” she said, but it lacked any heat.

  I smiled sweetly and handed her another from the tray. She took it before I could snatch it back, and we nibbled the cookies in silence for a few minutes. Finally, I asked, “If you weren’t asking about Kane, who were you asking about?”

  She ran her fingers along the rim of her cup then looked up meeting my eyes. “The man I’ve been dreaming about.”

  My head jerked back, causing me to spill my tea. “Shit!” I tried to mop it up with a napkin, but a small dark spot stained the cream sofa.

  “Don’t worry about it.” Pyper waved her hand in a dismissive fashion. “I know the owner.” She tried to smile, but it came out more as a grimace.

  I shook my head and said something about getting it cleaned. After putting the tea cup down to avoid further disaster, I turned to give her my full attention. “You’re dreaming of someone, too?”

  She nodded, fear flashing in her eyes. It wrapped around my chest, making me wheeze. I took shallow breaths and tried to conjure up as much calm as I could to combat her energy. When the air flowed freer, I asked, “Do you know him?”

  Her confusion, fear and anger seeped through my protective calm. Clamping down on my barriers, I shoved her emotions and my own mounting anger aside and concentrated.

  Pyper shook her head. “I don’t actually see him. There aren’t any details, just a shape, so I don’t know who it is.”

  “Can you tell me what happens in your dreams?” My stomach did flip-flops. Was it the same ghost as Mr. Sexy? My hands started shaking again. I didn’t really want to know what had happened to cause her breakdown, but I knew I needed to hear it.

  Pyper focused on her tea cup again. “He torments me, almost every night, or day. Whenever I try to sleep.”

  My fists curled. “How?”

  “I don’t know how to explain it exactly.” Her voice shook a little and I took her hand, squeezing it lightly. “It’s like…well, like I’m being physically beaten, but I’m not.”

  I nodded and waited for her to continue.

  She screwed her face up in concentration. “In the dreams I can feel myself being hit all over, but the brunt of it is my stomach and my face. My arms feel pinned down so I can’t defend myself. I feel the pain. I literally feel it so intensely, I think I must cry out in my sleep.”

  I shivered as the hair stood up on my arms.

  “When it’s over I feel empty. And bruised. Only, when I wake up, I’m not bruised at all. Then I think it’s just all in my mind, the pain, you know? “

  “I think so.” Her experience was very much like my own dreams of Mr. Sexy, only most of the time he brought me pleasure. It wasn’t until recently that he’d brought physical pain, and it didn’t sound the same. Mine was more of an emotional hurt, not an actual beating.

  I thought about what she said for a moment. “What happened tonight that sent Kane to get us?”

  “Hey, where is he?” Pyper glanced around.

  “I have no idea,” I blurted. “He came in raving about how we needed to help you. I took off and the rest of them stayed in my apartment.”

  Pyper drew her eyebrows together and frowned. “That’s odd.” I thought so too, but didn’t respond. “Well,” she continued, “Kane and I were just sitting here talking and I felt so safe being here with him, I curled up and went to sleep. I haven’t been sleeping well lately.”

  “I can imagine.” I felt a small twinge of guilt as I remembered actually enjoying Mr. Sexy in my dreams.

  “I guess I thought with Kane here, things might be all right.” Her face paled. “But I was wrong. It was the worst attack yet. I woke up screaming and ran.”

  She plucked at the couch cushion. “I guess I was disoriented and panicked. Kane started yelling at me to stop so he could help me. I froze. When he got to my side and put his arms around me, there was a light that flashed. Lightning, probably.” She squeezed her eyes closed and shuddered. “Then I suddenly started to burn from the inside out. I guess that’s when I passed out.” Her eyes fluttered open and found mine. “The next thing I knew, you were sitting next to me.”

  “Oh my God, Pyper.” I squeezed her hand harder and said in a very small voice, “This is my fault. I’m sorry.”

  “What? Your fault?” Her shock penetrated my defenses.

  “I don’t know if it’s my fault exactly, but I’ve been having somewhat similar dreams. Maybe if I’d shared the extent of them we could have figured something out so this didn’t keep happening to you.”

  “If I understand correctly, you’re having sex dreams. Those are nothing like mine.”

  Her flat, cold stare made me flinch. “No, the content isn’t the same. You’re right.” I stopped, rubbed my eyes. “What I mean is, mine seem so real. They feel just as real as yours do. When I wake up I can still feel the effects of the lovemaking.” My face burned hot and I turned away, embarrassed.

  “Okay, maybe, but what does that mean?”

  “I know, or at least I think I know, that the person in my dreams is the same as the ghost in my apartment. What if the same ghost is invading both of our dreams?”

  “If that is true, why would he torture me and have sex with you?” Her eyes narrowed, piercing me.

  “I don’t know!” I threw my hands up. “How could I know? He’s been hurting me too, lately. And with the similarity, it could be a link.” I paused as my words triggered a thought. “You said this attack was the worst one yet, right?”

  “Yeah. Why?”

  “Kane was with you. The two times I was attacked, Kane had been with me.”

  We stared at each other, until Pyper leaned back and in a low controlled voice asked, “You think Kane has something to do with this?”

  A thread of anger, combined with protectiveness, entered my consciousness. I rushed to reassure her. “No. I don’t. But maybe he’s a trigger for the ghost.”

  “I’m sorry.” She moved to sit next to me. “You’re right that he could be a trigger, but the ghost hurts me when Kane isn’t around, too.”

  “I know. It just seemed like too much of a coincidence.”

  She nodded agreement then jumped to her feet. “I’m tired of being the victim. I wish there was something we could do. Like confront the bastard.”

  “We can,” I said, surprising myself. “We can call him out like we did that first day in my apartme
nt.”

  “Now?”

  “Yes.” I said in a firm voice, not feeling at all as confident as I sounded.

  She studied me for a long moment and gave a quick nod.

  I moved to the middle of the living room. Pyper joined me and clasped my hand in hers.

  “I think we should both call him at the same time. Do you have a name you refer to him as?” I asked.

  “Mr. Evil,” she said in a matter-of-fact tone.

  I couldn’t help it. I burst out laughing.

  “What?” She frowned.

  “You’ll see,” I said trying to contain myself. “On three, then.” With a nod from Pyper, I counted backwards from three.

  On one I called out, “Mr. Sexy,” just as Pyper called, “Mr. Evil.”

  Pyper turned her head toward me and grinned briefly. Another flash of lightning shone through the uncovered window. Pyper flinched, tightening her grip on my hand. Her face went chalk white. Her terror rippled through me as if it were my own. “No, please don’t,” she whispered.

  I turned my head frantically from side to side, seeing nothing. She shook violently.

  Panicked, I yelled out “Mr. Sexy! Stop this right now. Do you hear me? I need you to stop this!” I concentrated hard on gathering as much energy as I could from my being. A tight ball formed in my stomach. It grew rapidly like an inflating balloon. When I mentally pushed the force from myself the lights flickered off and on, off and on. The tea tray vibrated on the coffee table, and a dark shadow appeared right in front of the two of us. A light breeze tickled my skin and ruffled my hair.

  And suddenly there was Mr. Sexy, standing in full view in front of us. He looked at me, turned around and put his arms out wide. The flickering and shaking stopped, and all that was left was a light tickling breeze.

  Trembling, I turned to Pyper. I felt the tension run out of her and her death grip loosen. But she didn’t let go. The color returned to her face, and a rush of gratitude and relief oozed from her into my awareness.

  “It’s all right now.” I stared at my ghost and reached my hand out, slow and tentative. The air felt hot and thick, even though I could hear the air conditioner blowing just over our heads.