Vanquishing Ghosts (Tess Schafer-Medium)

by Deborah J. Hughes

  "You have a boat?" I was pretty excited to learn that and Kade looked pleased by my reaction.

  "I do indeed. It's not very big, a sixteen foot Bayliner but she gets around quite well."

  "Oh, Kade! I love boats. I was just thinking earlier that if I had a boat, I'd be on the water today."

  Kade nodded with approval. "It's a great day for boating, the water is pretty calm and the wind is mild." He slid an arm across my shoulders. "So tell me what else happened while I was gone?"

  "I had a vision."

  "I suspected as much. Tell me about it."

  "It was a man. Something was wrong with him. He was very disoriented and unable to move. Some horrible man pushed him into the lake and he drowned."

  "Do you have any idea when this might have taken place? Did you get a name? Anything?"

  "No. I couldn't make out what was being said because, as I told you, something was wrong with him and his hearing was muddled. So were his thoughts. But he was definitely murdered, Kade."

  "Hmm. Maybe we should look it up and see if there were any drownings on the lake."

  I sent out loving energy to the spirit of that poor man and turned away to follow the narrow path through the brush and young alder trees to the clearing around the tomb. I was a little disappointed that the Tomb Lady hadn't put in an appearance but then again, I had enough to deal with right now. "I don't know why, but I have this niggling suspicion that that man's death is somehow connected to my house."

  "Could he be the bad spirit haunting the place? Maybe he's mad about his murder."

  "No. I don't get that at all. He wasn't an evil man. He was sad and confused and worried about someone. A girl."

  "Maybe he was connected to one of the other spirits haunting your house."

  "Yes. Maybe. I sure hope we can figure out who he is and help him move on. He's trapped here, unable to continue his spiritual journey."

  "You can't save them all, Tess."

  "No. But I can try. Besides, I think if we can figure out who he is and his connection to my house, we'll figure out a lot of other things as well. Something pertinent to the Big Bad."

  "You said that someone murdered him, right?" At my nod, Kade gave a small shrug. "Well, maybe the guy who murdered him is the evil one at your house."

  "I don't know, Kade, but I will tell you this ... there was something familiar about his voice."

  "Really? How so?"

  "I've no idea but when I heard it, though I couldn't make out what he was saying, there was something familiar about him and it made me cringe inside."

  Kade put Alex’s leash back on and we walked past the tomb toward the road, Alex sniffing about as we went. His relaxed behavior made me relax and though I knew the spirit of the drowned man wouldn't follow me home, his attention sure did. My back felt the stare of his spirit eyes as if it were being bored right into.

  "Kade, do me a favor and rub my back."

  Kade's hand dropped from my shoulder and rubbed gently. "Why? Your muscles sore?"

  "No, I just need to dispel the feeling of being stared at."

  "Okay." He bent down and kissed my temple. "Only with you, Tess, can something like that be said and not sound strange."

  Now that we were pretty sure Alex might have come from the house at the end of the street we were approaching, Kade and I hurried our pace in an effort to get him safely out of their possible view. I'm not sure what we would have done if they happened by, noticed Alex and then stopped to demand his return, but it wouldn't have gone well.

  Although we both began to relax when we made it to the private drive leading to my house, our relief was short lived. The shaded drive was chilly and still eerily silent. Alex pressed close to Kade's leg and no longer bothered sniffing at the ground.

  So, the evil was still here. As I knew it would be, of course, and it was waiting for our return. Only this time we had to make sure it wasn't given an opportunity to send one of us hurling through the air.

  Chapter 10

  The feeling of being watched persisted throughout our walk home. At times it was so strong, I knew that whatever lurked behind us was close enough to touch and my skin would prickle with anticipation of that very occurrence. The sensation would immediately dissipate when I finally succumbed to the feeling and turned my head to look, though it returned again just as soon as I turned back around.

  "I feel it too but I'll be damned if I'm going to give it the satisfaction of turning around," Kade muttered, his gaze straight ahead, his jaw locked with annoyance.

  Amused by this show of stubbornness ... and towards a ghost of all things, I did my best to hide the smile wanting so badly to appear. "I guess I don't have as much willpower as you."

  "Does it help to turn around and acknowledge it?"

  I thought about that for a moment and then conceded that it probably only encouraged things more than anything else. "No."

  "So who's following us? It's making my back crawl like crazy. It's the Big Bad isn't it?"

  He certainly was involved, but I also sensed another, one who wanted to make contact but was perhaps being prevented from doing so. But as to who it could be, I was only sure of one thing ... it was a female.

  I no sooner clarified that in my mind when it suddenly felt as if someone grabbed my insides and clenched them into a fist. Gasping for breath, I fell to the ground and an overwhelming sorrow hit me right in the heart. I was vaguely aware of Kade saying something but I was so focused on her and trying to strengthen our connection that I couldn't give him the reassurance I knew he was probably seeking. Hoping he'd get it that I was now in the throes of another vision, it was the last thought I gave to him. She needed me.

  We crawled along the ground toward my car though I knew that wasn't her destination. She was focused on something else. Pressing my folded arms to my stomach, I managed to stand and stumble forward, skirting my car and heading for the clearing next to it. A few more feet and then our strength drained away. She stretched out a hand and clawed at the ground, moving a finger through the loose sand in such a way that I knew she was trying to write something. I gave her the freedom to do as she would but when her spirit began to fade away and I realized our connection was about to be severed, I tried again to speak with her.

  Please tell me who you are! All I got in response were her tears and those quickly faded into nothing more than a memory.

  After a few moments of silence to collect myself, I opened my eyes and saw that I lay prone on the ground next to the area where Kade felt sure another structure used to exist. As for Kade, he knelt a couple feet away, his eyes watchful of my every move. Though it probably cost him some effort not to do so, he made no move to touch me until I lifted my head and met his gaze. Muttering his relief, he came forward without delay and gathered me into his arms.

  "Honestly, Tess, I don't know if I'll ever get used to this." He sat on the ground next to me and I turned into his embrace, loving the feel of his strength surrounding me.

  "I'm sorry. I felt her draw near and then just let her in. I should have tried to warn you first."

  "So it didn't just suddenly take over?"

  "Not really. I felt her so strongly and I wanted to connect with her before she faded away. I thought it might help me figure out who she is. Luckily, I think I got my answer."

  "Who is she?"

  "She's the same girl I connected with at Buck's grave that day when we were checking out his monument."

  Remembering the incident to which I was referring, Kade nodded thoughtfully. "So she's haunting here and there? I thought ghosts stayed in one spot?"

  "Their energy can manifest in whatever areas are important to them."

  "Isn't she the one who was believed to have cursed Buck's monument?"

  "Accept that we determined it wasn't a curse. It was a vision. I can't be absolute sure yet for she hasn't confirmed her name but I truly think it's Isidora. Isabelle's daughter."

  Kade dropped a kiss on the top of my head and made
to stand up. "I don't know about you, but I'd rather go in the house and get comfortable." Once he was on his feet, he held out a hand and gave me a hoist up.

  "Where's Alex?"

  "He whined like crazy when you started your vision and I let him off his leash. He headed straight for the house."

  "Did you open the door for him?"

  "No."

  "Don't tell me, it was already open."

  "Yes."

  I brushed the dirt off my clothes and glanced at the ground, going still with surprise when I noticed something was scratched in the dirt near my feet. Crouching low, I studied the scrawling. "Kade, did you see me trying to write something in the dirt?"

  "I saw you scratching at the ground with your fingers but didn't realize you were trying to write a message." He crouched next to me and we both studied the markings etched into the dirt.

  "It's not a message. It's a symbol." My heart pounding, I looked at Kade to see if he saw it as plain as I did.

  "Looks like a sloppy pentagram."

  "Well, she was dying."

  "Tess, she's already dead and has been for quite some time."

  "Yes, I know that, Kade. But the vision we shared were her last moments alive."

  "And she drew a pentagram? What does that mean anyway? Isn't that evil?"

  "No. Well, it's used for many things actually but mainly it's a form of protection. The five points of the star represent the five elements and all are equally balanced. Those who work in the context of positive spiritual forces use the pentagram to ward off evil."

  "So why would your ghost draw that in the dirt as she was dying? Was she warding off evil?"

  "I think so. But I also get the impression that she's warning me."

  Kade's eyes narrowed at that. He pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and took a picture of the drawing. "Nice to keep for our records. You did say you were going to start chronicling your adventures here in Maine."

  "True. You are so thoughtful, Kade."

  "I am. Now let's discuss this warning."

  "We know the Big Bad isn't good, Kade, so it isn't like we should be surprised."

  "But it takes on a different meaning when you have ghosts warning you about it."

  We began walking toward the house, our steps in perfect sync. "I have a beautiful pentagram designed on canvas from string art that I bought at a psychic fair. I think I should dig that out and hang it in the great room."

  We started up the porch steps and Alex came rushing through the door. He looked pretty happy to see us and pranced excitedly around our feet. Kade reached down to scratch his head and then we walked into the house. Remembering what happened the last time we returned home, both of us stood for a quiet moment and looked around. Nothing seemed out of place or raised our concern. Alex certainly didn't detect anything and just at that moment the cat came from the dining room and plopped his butt down just inside the doorway leading into the entry hall.

  "So there's the gray menace."

  "He's not a menace, Kade. Why do you say that?" I walked slow and steady toward him, wondering if he was going to bolt. The cat's green eyes watched me in almost wide-eyed amusement. Once I was close enough to touch him, I knelt down and held out a hand for him to sniff. The cat turned his head away in disdain. I took that as an okay to pat him. Soon as I touched his thick long fur, he began to purr. Loudly. "Look at this, Kade! I think we are going to be friends."

  "He's going to be a menacing friend. I can feel it."

  Laughing at the prediction, I stared at the cat thoughtfully. "He needs a name."

  "Why?"

  "Because we can't keep calling him the big gray menace?" Giving it some thought, I suddenly had the perfect name. "We'll call him Dennis!"

  "Dennis the Menace? Perfect."

  The cat looked at me then at Kade, gave a long, drawn out "meow" and shook off my hand as he stretched to a stand. With his tails swishing straight up in the air, he walked to the stairs then scooted up them in loud pounding steps.

  "He sure has made himself right at home." Kade shook his head. "Not two full days here and you now have a cat and dog."

  "Yes, isn't it wonderful? I wasn't sure I was ready for another dog but Alex found us and when animals find you ... well, they are meant to be part of your family."

  "Great, let's hope a bear doesn't wander into the yard."

  "Kade." He was really quite funny and I loved him more each day. Something in my expression must have created an answering flair in his eyes because he stepped close and pulled me into his arms, dropping his head to capture my lips in a long, satisfying kiss.

  "I love you, Tess."

  "And I love you, Kade."

  He pressed another kiss to my mouth, drew his hands around to release me and made sure to brush against my breasts as he did so. Gasping a little at his sensual play, I swayed toward him but he set me firmly away. "We've work to do. I'll be sure to take this back up when we have more time to indulge."

  "What work?"

  "I think we should get that room of yours in the back straightened out. You might get the urge to write and I'm already feeling the itch to paint."

  "Right. So, we'll focus our energy on the great room and deal with the rest after we've finished it."

  "Tess?"

  "Hmm?" We were walking down the hall but I looked over my shoulder at his unspoken question.

  "We are not going to keep calling it the great room." He made air quotes with his fingers and gave me an "I'm standing firm on this" look.

  "Why not?"

  "Because it sounds silly. Let's give it a decent name. Like ... office or study."

  Scrunching my nose, I shook my head and continued on down the hall. "Those sound boring." Stopping in the doorway to the room in question, I swept my hand toward it. "Does that beautiful room look like an office or study to you?"

  Scratching his chin, Kade gave it some thought. "How about the Sun Room? It's always sunny in here because of all the windows."

  I nodded in approval but gave him a small teasing nudge. "And Sun Room sounds so much better than Great Room?"

  "Yes." Kade squeezed past me and opened one of the large boxes nearby. "So let's get it set up properly. Maybe we'll get it done before dinner." And then, as if having a sudden thought, he glanced around toward the back porch. "We should get a grill..."

  "No."

  Surprised by my sharp tone, Kade turned to look at me. "No? You don't like grilled food?"

  And though it happened two years ago and I was truly over it, that didn't make the twinge of unease go away. "Mike died the day we were grilling steaks. I just don't want to deal with barbeques anymore."

  Kade's expression closed up just a little and he turned away. "I see."

  But he didn't and he had every right to be annoyed. It was silly to feel the way I did after all this time. The barbeque didn't kill Mike. A drunk driver did. "You know what, Kade, let's do it. Let's get a grill. The back porch is perfect for it. The patio set is around to the side, we'll bring it out here over-looking the marsh."

  Kade set down my computer he was currently unpacking and came over to give me a hug. "Are you sure?"

  "I am." Mike is the past. Kade is my future and if he wanted a grill, we were going to get a grill. But when it came time to use it and we were out of something, he wasn't going anywhere to get it. Either we had all the ingredients or we went without.

  "What are you thinking about?"

  "That we've a lot of work to do and I haven't even thought about dinner preparations."

  "Let's go out tonight. We'll go to that restaurant in town that we like."

  "But I'm not sure I want to leave the animals at night. Not until we vanquish the Big Bad anyway."

  "Okay. I didn't think about that." Kade heaved a sigh and scratched the back of his head, thinking. "Well, until we've vanquished the ghosts, looks like we aren't going to be going much of anywhere. How about we have omelets tonight? It doesn't take a lot of prep and I am in the mood fo
r eggs."

  "Sounds good. I love having breakfast for dinner." As I headed for the boxes stacked near the wall shelving, I thought about the house blessing and stopped to clarify. "We do have to make that trip to the Spiritualist camp though, Kade. We'll bring Alex with us and make sure Dennis is out of the house when we leave."

  "You aren't worried he'll take off?"

  "Well if he does, then he would be going home and I can't complain about that. Speaking of which, we probably should post something in the paper just to be sure someone isn't looking for him." Though I didn't think so and wasn't sure why I was so certain of it.

  "Sounds like we have us a plan."

  And with that we both set to work with the single-minded purpose of getting our Sun Room in order. Kade was right. I was getting the itch to write and I had no doubt that Kade was just as antsy to get painting. In fact, now that I let the thought of writing enter my head, it was taking firm hold and making me work faster to be done.

  The last couple times I helped with a haunting, I managed to channel a story that pertained to the spirits involved. I couldn't wait to see what I might come up with this time!

  Chapter 11

  It actually didn't take us as long as I thought it would. We were so focused on our set task that we managed to complete it before we both came to the realization that it was way past supper time and we were more than a little hungry. In fact, it was Kade's stomach rumbling loud in the quiet room that made us both stop what we were doing and look at each other in mutual amusement.

  Even as I shared a chuckle with Kade, I glanced around in appreciation of our work. We had created a very efficient and cozy room. One in which we could not only relax but work in as well.

  Kade’s area took one corner of the room right in front of the wall of windows facing the back yard. In addition, he had next to him another window facing the side yard. An easel was set up and a small table stood next to it holding a palette of paints and a ceramic mug I lent him to store a variety of pencils and paint brushes. The built-in cabinet next to the side window was his to use as well and the few things he brought with him were neatly arranged upon it. I was happy to see he was organized and tidy. More and more I found ways in which he and I were compatible.