Vanquishing Ghosts (Tess Schafer-Medium)

by Deborah J. Hughes

  "I order you by the grace of God to leave this room." Speaking the words loud and clear, I tried not to let it bother me how silly I must sound talking to what appeared to be nothing. As real as it all was, it still felt like we were in the throes of a grade B horror movie. Or one of those ghost hunting shows I watched on occasion. And to be honest, I usually felt the people on those shows were being overly dramatic for the cameras and that nothing involving spirits was actually going on. Although that surely wasn't the case all the time. There were times when I wanted to shout at them, "It's right behind you! Turn around and you'll have your ghost." When moments like that happened, I thought it odd that I could detect the spirits they were looking for while watching something that was taped months in advance, but I could. I didn't question it. Just like I didn't question it now. It was here.

  The long curtains covering the window next to the shower fluttered and we both turned in that direction. Although it was pretty dark in that corner, the light from the doorway behind us offered enough to make out the fact that a shadowy figure stood behind the fluttering curtain. I pulled from Kade's grip and held up a hand when he started to protest. "Stay there, Kade, and keep the door from closing. I must confront this."

  Before taking another step, though, I took a few seconds to gather my energies. With my eyes closed, I prayed for help and then concentrated on opening my Chakras. I envisioned each of the seven energy centers spinning faster and faster within me, their corresponding colors growing brighter and brighter until they all blended together and became a brilliant white light. The vivid imagery energized me more than ever before and my confidence grew as I headed for the window.

  The curtain began to bow out as if a body were pressing against it. As far as spiritual tricks go, that was a good one. No doubt the thing was trying to scare me. It wasn't working. My heartbeat remained slow and steady, my breathing even. I was not afraid.

  When I was close enough to touch the curtain, I reached out, grabbed the riffling edge and pulled it open. A surge of air rushed over me, knocking the breath from my lungs. I fell back a step but then regained my footing and stood firm. With my hands held out in front of me, I drew energy from within and forced it out through my fingertips. I imagined a light bursting from me like streaks of lightning and in my mind's eye I saw the streaks strike a black shape that recoiled in response. A deeply pitched scream filled my head and hurt my ears, making me flinch. And then it was gone.

  "Turn the lights on, Kade."

  Light flooded the room, their bright glare making me squint. "I need to stay here and keep it clear. Can you go to the basket next to the window seat and get that smudging satchel Robin gave us? Light it with the matches in the can on the dresser. Also in that basket are a couple wooden crosses. Bring me one of those too."

  Kade didn't even question my requests and was back minutes later accompanied by the fragrant smoke of the burning herbs. I took the satchel from him then walked slowly around the room, even stepping in the shower. The smudging smoke removed the negative energy imprint left from the Big Bad and neutralized the air which I then recharged with positive energy by repeating a mantra I felt worked best for me.

  "Negative energy be gone. May only the positive force of love fill this room. I ask the angels, through the power of God's grace, to protect this space now and always." I spoke softly and continued to envision the light from within me shining outward, removing all lingering shadows from the room.

  Because the Big Bad had been here so long, its energy was deeply embedded into my home. It was going to take some time to clear it but clear it we would. This house was now mine and no evil entity was going to stay here ever again. I would protect this land and would not rest until it was done.

  Surprised by how strong that last thought was, I was momentarily distracted until my fingers began to feel the heat from the burning sage. I quickly set it in the marble soap dish which was thankfully empty on the vanity and gently swished the air above it until every bit of the sage burned to ash. Once that was done, I gathered the ashes and washed them down the sink.

  "So what do I do with this cross and what's that in the center of it?"

  I took the cross from Kade's outstretched hand and ran my finger over the rose quartz stone inlaid within it. "Rose quartz has a loving energy. Combine that with the positive influence of the cross and we have here an excellent symbol to ward off evil."

  "But doesn't the cross represent the Christian faith? I thought you weren't associated with a religion."

  "That doesn't mean I don't believe in what this cross represents, Kade. For centuries the cross has represented the three forces of God the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost. All very positive forces to most of the world religions. The power of the cross comes from the strong beliefs associated with it. Conversely, the Hindu mandala and the Jewish Star of David have the same positive spiritual influence." I pointed to the wall space above the door. "Can you hang it up there?"

  "I'll need a nail."

  "Wait here." I walked into the bedroom to retrieve a hammer and nail and then took both back to Kade. He pulled a nearby stool close to him and stood on it to hang the cross.

  I gave a satisfied nod as I watched him do so. "There. He won't come back in here."

  "I think we better go find a big supply of these, Tess. We've a lot of rooms in this house. Seems to me it's the first thing we should have done."

  "It doesn't have to be a cross. The pentagram in the Sun Room should keep that clear. But you are right, I should have done this first thing. I just didn't realize how bad it was ... how much hold the Big Bad has on the house."

  Alex began barking again and with a quick look at Kade that said we should proceed with caution, we both ran from the room.

  Both animals were on the third floor. Although technically an attic, it was much too nice a room to call it that. The walls and slanted ceiling were finished in cedar, the floor in oak, and it was really quite lovely and cozy. Round windows adorned both end walls facing the front and back yards, and four skylights were evenly spaced on the ceiling between them. The entrance to the Widow's walk was located at the front end just below the window and it was there where Alex and Dennis were located.

  Both were locked outside and Alex was not happy about it. We found him jumping repeatedly at the door and scratching madly to get in. Dennis sat perched on the cone roof to the turreted part of the house, watching Alex's activity with agitated interest, his big tail swishing madly.

  Kade pulled the door open and Alex rushed in, passing right on by us without any sort of greeting and heading for the stairs. Dennis needed to be coaxed in and when he finally did so, he took his time about it, stopping to look at me and give a loud meow of annoyance before charging off after Alex.

  Kade watched them disappear down the stairwell then turned his head to look at me. "Why would the spirit lock the animals out there?"

  I shook my head, as puzzled as Kade. "To keep them away while it conducted its business? I'm just not sure."

  Kade looked around the attic which was filled with boxes of holiday decorations because, of course, I loved decorating for Halloween, not to mention Christmas. Both were my favorite holidays. "This room was kept really nice. Too nice for just an attic. I wonder what it was used for?" He stopped under one of the skylights to look up at the starless sky. Outside, all was dark.

  "I think this room was where Kevin stayed when he was living here."

  "Kevin the crazy one?"

  "Yes him."

  Kade took my hand. "Then I don't blame the animals for hightailing it out of here. Hard telling what sort of strange rituals that kid did up here. Talk about negative energy. We should have a cross on every wall."

  I couldn't help but laugh though the subject was actually too serious for that. Still, I did find Kade's theatrical voice amusing and appreciated how he could lighten the mood no matter how grim things were. I loved having laughter back in my life. That two year grieving spell I went through af
ter Mike died made me appreciate it even more. "We only need one item to keep the peace up here but I think we'll concentrate on the rest of the house before we worry about the attic."

  Once we made it back downstairs, we both agreed that a cup of hot chocolate was in order. Kade sat with me in the kitchen while I brewed my special concoction ... no canned cocoa for me!

  Mike and I vacationed in Italy the year after my graduation from college. It was during the winter and he wanted to try out the Alpine ski slopes. I wasn't in to skiing so stayed behind in the resort’s lodge and became addicted to their hot chocolate. It was like a thinned pudding and it was yummy. First thing I did was get a recipe and now I couldn't wait to see what Kade thought of it.

  "I have to admit that I've never seen cocoa prepared that way." Kade watched the preparations with interest.

  "Because this is more like a hot chocolate dream drink than a watered down mixture you are used to getting." Once the chocolate had thickened to the consistency I liked, I took it off the stove, poured it into two mugs, dropped a spoon in each and handed one of the mugs to Kade. He took a sip then closed his eyes in appreciation.

  "Delicious. Want a taste?" He leaned down to give me a kiss, his chocolaty tongue tangling with mine.

  We took our time with that kiss and when we came up for air, we both had to drag in a lung full. Somehow I managed to peel myself away from his body and grab his hand. "So, let's go finish our drinks in the Sun Room. I think it's the safest place in the house aside from the bedroom."

  Kade lifted an incredulous brow. "You call our bedroom safe? I think we've encountered the Big Bad every time we've gone in there."

  "Yes, well that was before I cleared it and you put up the cross. Speaking of which, I need to bring up my smaller pentagram to hang over the bed."

  We entered the Sun Room … Alex at our heels, Dennis following at a distance … and headed straight for the sofa. We sat snuggled close together and sipped our hot chocolate in peaceful silence.

  After a few moments, I nodded toward the fireplace. "I wish we'd thought to bring in some wood."

  "I brought some up from the shed and left it near the door on the porch. Hold on a minute and I'll make that wish of yours true."

  Ten minutes later we were gazing into a crackling fire while Alex lay stretched out on the rug before the hearth and Dennis curled on the ledge of the fireplace base which was about two feet up from the floor. Although he lay to the side away from the fire, I hoped he was safe from flying embers and when Kade saw me eyeballing the situation, he gave my shoulders a reassuring squeeze.

  “He’s fine, Tess. The screen should protect him from a stray spark.”

  I laid my head on his shoulder and thought it didn’t get any better than this. It was a truly peaceful moment and I wanted it to last forever.

  "I always thought pentagrams were bad symbols. Usually in movies, they seemed to always be something the evil guys utilized."

  "Yes, well Hollywood goes for sensationalism and not so much realism."

  "So tell me what it really is."

  "Well, some believe the pentagram ... which is basically a star of which the five points are connected from one continuous line ... represents the five wounds of Jesus. So at one time the pentagram was considered a Christian symbol. However, it's much older than that and is more closely associated with Pagan beliefs. When their beliefs became condemned by the Christian church, the pentagram was condemned as well."

  "So the cross wasn't the first Christian symbol of Jesus?"

  "No. It was later adopted by the Catholic Church as an accepted symbol of Christ. It's a shame really that the pentagram has been so defiled by those who don't know any better. Each section of the pentagram represents an element ... earth, air, water, fire and spirit. The fifth element ... spirit, is the highest of all elements and so points up toward the heavens."

  "So what does the circle around the star mean? Is it necessary?"

  "The circle represents eternity ... the continuity of life with no beginning and no end. Which is why people exchange rings when they marry ... it is symbolic of their union having no end."

  Kade gave a short snicker at that and I made no comment. I knew he was thinking about his disastrous engagement which ended during his last tour in Afghanistan. She took up with his best friend and that was the end of that. "So why is it a form of protection?"

  "The star represents the five elements of life as I said and the circle which touches each point brings unity to all the elements and ensures protection to all held within the closed circle. No evil is allowed within the pentagram’s circle."

  "Okay, but this room isn't inside a pentagram so how is it supposed to offer protection to us?"

  "No but the room benefits from its presence for it emanates positive energy and the room in which it hangs benefits from its symbolic meaning. Though you are right to a degree for it isn't quite as effective as being within the circle of a pentagram. Still, for our purposes, this should be fine."

  "So it isn't used for evil in any way?"

  "Well, an inverted pentagram, one in which a pointed tip faces straight down ... that is sometimes used by evil doers of black magic and the like."

  "You mentioned you have a smaller design of the pentagram to hang in the bedroom?"

  "Yes."

  "But we don't have enough crosses or pentagrams to hang in every room of the house do we?"

  "No. Not that we need just those items. Anything which has significant spiritual meaning will do. Items become charged with the energy of whatever intention has been assigned to them. The more people who believe in the symbol and the longer it has been in use the stronger its energy."

  "Why?"

  Glad that Kade was interested and open to talking about this, I snuggled closer against him and rested my arm over his as it encircled my waist. "Symbols develop meaning when someone assigns them one. And as I said, the more people who come on board with that meaning and the longer it's been in use, the stronger the symbol becomes. That's why the cross is such a strong positive symbol. It's been around a long time and millions of people understand and accept its symbolic meaning." I pointed toward the Buddha statue next to the hall doorway. "Just as that Buddha statue represents all that Buddha stood for, the cross stands for all that Jesus stood for."

  "So we should be quite safe in here ... we have that Buddha statue, the pentagram above the mantel, the salt lamp and your angel collection all keeping watch over this room."

  "Yes, but I think we'll spread some of it out. I have angel plaques that we can hang over each door so they may guard who comes into the room."

  Kade kissed the top of my head and stood up. "Then let's get to work. Once we've finished with that, it should be time to turn in. I think we should get an early start tomorrow so we can get it figured out who the heck the Big Bad is and then vanquish him from this house for good."

  "Great idea."

  And so an hour later we crawled into bed feeling safe enough to fall asleep without worry of evil mischief occurring during our slumber. Even so, I did dream of being chased by a large dark dragon, its fire nipping at my backside and singeing my hair. The faster I ran, the closer it got and finally I stopped running and turned to face it. The dragon stopped its chase and faced me down. As we stood and stared at each other, its size increased as mine diminished and I wondered if I would eventually become nothing. Thankfully, I woke up before it got to that point.

  The room was filled with predawn light and a glance at the bedside clock told me it wasn't yet five. Kade lay spooned next to me, his arm around my waist. It was comforting to wake up in such a way and I closed my eyes, feeling content and at peace. Although I was sure the dream was a warning of some sort, I told myself I'd worry about it later. Right now all was right with the world and I intended to take advantage of it. Besides, there was plenty of time to figure things out before anything truly horrible happened, surely.

  But as I slipped back into sleep, the sensation of
cobwebs tickled my face and the faint whisper of Sheila's soft melodic voice drifted through my mind.

  "Warnings are to be heeded without delay, Tess. They come only when danger is imminent."

  Chapter 13

  The drive to Northport was a pleasant one. Following Maine's coastal route, we passed several outside flea markets and I looked on with interest as our car crawled by. The traffic was heavy, particularly in this area, and it gave me plenty of time to look. Though we didn’t have time to stop, I made a mental note to come back this way again and check out each and every one. Who knew what sort of treasures we would find?

  It wasn’t just the shopping possibilities that interested me. The intermittent views of the ocean drew my attention every time. Whenever glimpses of the water came into view, Kade slowed the car so I could enjoy the sight. “Maine is such a pretty state isn’t it, Kade? I know I’m going to like living here.”

  “I know I enjoy you living here.” Without taking his eyes from the road, Kade brought our linked hands to his mouth so he could press a lingering kiss on my fingers.

  My heart nearly bursting with love, I did the same to him then returned my attention to the sights, not wanting to miss a thing.

  My favorite part of the trip was crossing over a bridge and looking down at the coastal town of Belfast and its bay filled with boats of every kind. Built along the sloping banks of the harbor, the old town looked quite interesting from what I could see of it and I hoped we’d get a chance to check it out later.

  What looked like a boat yard and marina lined the water’s edge and several other crowded wharfs were spread along the way. Boats of every shape and size bobbed in the bay while many more were moored along the wharfs. I couldn’t get over the variety … sailboats, fishing boats, tugboats, catamarans, houseboats and even a small cruise ship.