Steven decided to drop into the River, and realized Roy was already there. He’s always one step ahead of me, Steven thought, even when it seems like he isn’t.
In the River the core of the rod glowed blue, and produced a sporadic pulse. The wire coil wrapped around the outside of the core turned slowly along the length of the rod; a long, twisting spiral in motion. Steven was mesmerized by how unusual it looked. He noticed that in a couple of places the coil appeared broken, and its ends occasionally scraped against the blue core, producing a line of bright red on the surface of the rod and an occasional spark.
What is it? Steven asked.
I have no idea, Roy replied.
◊
“I’ve dealt with these things many times before,” Sam White said, his face slowly turning red as he flipped through images on an iPad in his hands. “The best thing you can all do is leave the house and let us get on… ”
“You didn’t even know it was there!” Roy interrupted. “You don’t know anything about it!”
“Gentlemen!” Barbara said, holding up her hands between Roy and Sam. “Please! Roy, what do you think it is? Is it responsible for what’s going on here?”
“Very likely,” he replied. “But we don’t know why it’s here. We need to find that out.”
“Why isn’t relevant,” Sam said, turning his iPad around to show Barbara the pictures he had pulled up. “It’s a rod. It’s likely only part of the problem. The house is possessed, and rods are a common manifestation in these cases.”
“If they’re common, how come I’ve never seen one before?” Roy said.
“If you haven’t seen one before, I doubt you’ll be very effective in dealing with it,” Sam shot back.
“You’re a jackass, you know that?” Roy sneered at Sam.
“Stop!” Barbara said. “Roy, if that thing upstairs is what’s causing the problem, do you know how to stop it? What to do with it?”
“No, not yet,” he replied. “I’d need some time to figure it out. Understand what it’s doing and how it’s doing it.”
“And you, Mr. White?” she turned to Sam.
“It’s just a rod,” Sam replied. “Common. It’ll be eliminated by the pulses we’re going to send through the house. It’s worked many times before.”
“Pulses?” Steven asked, stepping in. “How are pulses going to eliminate that thing? It looks damaged as it is; how do you know you won’t just damage it further?”
“I intend to damage it right into oblivion!” Sam replied, his face fully flush. “I’ve met types like you and your father. You’re spiritualists and kooks, preying on this poor family’s nightmare. You’re both pathetic. You’d let that thing go on and on while you study it and do some mumbo jumbo over it. Well, we intend to blow it out of the water, not milk it.”
Steven could see Roy’s upper lip tighten, and he knew that Roy was ready to start swinging.
“Barbara,” Steven said. “We’re only asking for some time.”
“Any idea how long that might take?” she asked.
“No, to be honest,” Steven said. “I don’t want to mislead you.”
“Meanwhile, it’s nearly the end of the day, and we’re all set up and ready to go,” Sam said. “This equipment is expensive to cart around, and I have an engagement with another client tomorrow. It’s now, or next week with additional charges if you want our services.”
“Your service is a fucking sham!” Roy exploded. “Fake science! We’re not the ones ripping this lady off, goddamnit! We’re not charging anything.”
“I know how you use things like this for your own self-aggrandizement!” Sam shouted, little bits of spit flying from his mouth as he yelled. “Don’t pretend you’re helping from the goodness of your heart!”
“Mr. White!” Barbara interrupted. “Are you sure it will work?”
“As we discussed earlier, there are no guarantees,” he replied. “But we’ve eliminated rods many times before.”
“Then I guess you can go ahead with whatever you’re going to do,” Barbara said, resigned.
“I’d strongly advise against it,” Roy said.
“Roy,” Barbara replied calmly, “my husband has paid for these people to do this. They’re all set up and ready to go. They say they know what they’re doing, that this will solve it. You’ve admitted you don’t know what to do. I have to let them proceed.”
Steven could see she was set. Barbara didn’t seem like a second-guesser.
“It’s a mistake!” Roy said.
Steven stepped up and grabbed Roy’s shoulder. “Come on, Dad,” he said. “Let’s let this outfit do their job.”
Roy cast one last pleading look at Barbara, but she had her jaw set firmly.
“I’m sorry, Roy,” Barbara said. “I do appreciate your help.”
Roy saw a crinkled smile spread across Sam’s face. “If everyone will leave the house, we’ll set the timers. It’ll kick off in about twenty minutes, and take another hour to complete.” Then he turned and walked out of the room.
“Can I leave you my number, just in case this doesn’t work?” Steven asked Barbara.
“Of course,” she said, smiling at him. “That’s very kind of you to offer.” They walked back into the kitchen. Roy decided to walk outside to the front of the house and wait by the car.
“I hope I haven’t offended your father,” Barbara said as Steven wrote down his phone number on a pad in the kitchen. “I had to go with the best option in front of me.”
“We’re not offended at all,” Steven said. “I just hope it works out.” He left the pencil and pad on the counter. “This is my cell number. We live in Seattle, but we have a place out here where we’ll be staying. It doesn’t have good cell reception, so if you do need to reach me and I don’t pick up, leave a message and I will eventually get back in touch, OK?”
“Thank you, Steven,” she said. “And thank you for finding that thing in the attic. Your father was right, I don’t think White had any clue it was there. He’s just bringing in his machines and trusting that they’ll eradicate whatever they need to. We’ll see.”
“Yes,” Steven said. “We’ll see. Good luck.”
Chapter Four
Steven helped Roy pull the large tree branch back over the road behind them. Since they had been coming and going on the small road to the back of the Unser estate, they were a little worried about people noticing the path and exploring it. In the interest of keeping people out, they’d added a second gate to the path and Roy had cut down a large branch that was just the right size for the two of them to handle. By dragging it across the path, it made it look less navigable.
Once they were back in the car, Steven drove the rest of the way to the large metal doors that sealed the entrance to the old prohibition tunnel. Roy got out of the car and opened them, allowing Steven to drive through, then closed and locked them behind the car.
Inside the tunnel, Steven drove slowly, but not so slow that the car’s exhaust would become an issue. On a recent visit he and Roy had patrolled the tunnel, sweeping rocks to the side so that the drive could be as smooth and quick as possible.
When they reached the end of the tunnel, Steven turned the car off and they pulled their bags from the trunk. Then they walked up the short set of wooden steps and opened the metal door that led to the staircase they would use to descend to Eximere.
It was a walk they were used to. Going to Eximere was always more enjoyable than leaving – all the steps going back up were a real workout.
Once they emerged into the large cave that held the grounds and the house, Steven stopped for a moment to admire the view. The house in the distance was always breathtaking, and the landscaping surrounding the house was magnificent, particularly at night, when the overhead light was off and the lights in the yard came on. It was always manicured and perfectly maintained. Steven never got tired of the sight, and was grateful that the house and its yards always took care of themselves.
“What
was that?” Roy asked, startled. He stopped, placing his bag on the ground.
“What?” Steven asked.
“You didn’t hear that?”
“Hear what?”
“Shh…”
They paused.
“Rumbling, in the distance,” Roy whispered.
“I don’t hear…”
Then Steven heard it, and felt it. The ground was shaking.
“Earthquake?” Steven asked.
“We need to make it into that house,” Roy said. “Find a doorway to stand under.”
“Or back into the stairwell,” Steven suggested. “At least we’d be on the way out if things start to collapse.”
The rumbling began to subside and the tremors under their feet came to a stop.
“Whew!” Roy said. “That was a nice moment of panic!”
Steven resumed his walk to the house, following the path that led from the stairwell to the front porch of the house. “Hadn’t thought about how to handle an earthquake in here,” he said. “Under all this rock, we’d probably be squashed flat.”
“There could be something in the design of it that might protect it, like a bubble,” Roy said.
As if on cue, the lights in the yard flickered, leaving them for a moment in total darkness. It remained black for only a second, and when it came back on, it seemed at less intensity than before.
“What the fuck?” Roy asked Steven.
“Should we stay?” Steven asked. “I’m not sure I like the idea of hanging out with all of this going on.”
Roy walked into the house and up the stairs. Steven followed, and they went into their respective bedrooms, dropping their bags. Then they met up at the landing. Just as they reached each other, the lights went out again.
“Let’s put flashlights on the list for the next time we come,” Steven said, fumbling in the dark. “Can you see anything?”
“Not a thing,” Roy replied. “I hate being in the dark like this.”
The light slowly returned, as though someone somewhere was turning on a dimmer. The brightness increased until it exceeded normal, and Steven found himself holding up his hand to shield his eyes.
“Maybe sunglasses, too!” Roy said, squinting.
The light dropped in intensity once again and settled around normal.
“Originally I thought I’d get here and go straight to bed, but I’d like to make a quick inspection before I turn in,” Steven said. “This is making me nervous.”
“Agreed,” Roy said. They walked down the stairs together.
“I’ll take the kitchen side, you take the library side,” Steven said.
Roy dashed away, checking the rooms he’d been assigned. Steven walked into the hallway that led to the object room. He poked his head into it, looking for anything unusual. Everything seemed in its place; the earthquake hadn’t caused anything to hit the floor.
He continued on down the hall until he reached the kitchen. Things looked normal. He could faintly hear Roy yelling for him, so he turned and ran back down the hallway and into the breezeway of the house. Roy was emerging from the other side.
“Come here, you have to see this!” Roy said, waving for Steven to follow him. They walked back down the west hallway, past the library and into the large drawing room that made up the entire west end of the house. Steven’s jaw dropped.
The western wall of the room was gone, exposing the outside yard. It was as though it had been neatly sliced off. Steven could see the trees and bushes that extended throughout that area of the grounds, all the way to the cave wall.
“What’s happening?” Steven asked Roy. “Why’s this happening?”
“I don’t know,” Roy said. “I think we should check on the projects downstairs.”
They walked together to the bookcase in the library and opened the passageway to the staircase that led to the basement. When they reached the bottom they walked through the experiment tables, looking them over, searching for any sign of something out of place. Everything seemed normal, exactly as it had appeared the last time they’d been in the basement.
Steven approached the legend shelf, the object Eliza used to re-route the marchers when they’d first discovered Eximere. He could tell right away something was wrong.
“Dad!” Steven called. “Come here!”
The black slate of the legend shelf normally contained blue lines that defined different areas of the property and the house. The lines were pulsing and changing color, alternating between blue and red.
“Something’s up,” Roy said. “Almost looks like an alarm has been tripped, doesn’t it? The red and all.”
“You think someone else is down here?” Steven asked, concerned. “An intruder?”
“I don’t think it cares who is here,” Roy said. “I think this is some kind of system alarm, warning us that something is wrong.”
“Hence the lights and the missing wall? I’m guessing this was caused by the earthquake.”
“Could be. Something is out of balance with how things normally run,” Roy said. “Do you see the yellow? Over there?” Roy pointed to the side of the legend shelf.
Steven could barely make it out. He dropped into the River and the yellow glowed brightly, marking an area on the western side of the house and yard. He left the flow, feeling a familiar sting on the back of his neck.
“It seems to mark where the wall was removed,” Steven said.
“And that whole side of the yard,” Roy added. “Whatever that yellow thing is, I think it’s the problem.”
They left the legend shelf and quickly checked out the remaining tables. Then they went into the small room where the three special objects were sitting – including the one they assumed kept the place running.
“Looks normal,” Steven said. He walked up to the object in the middle and touching the glass sphere that held two gold discs – silent and unmoving. The object to its right sat still, the broken glass cubes undisturbed. The third object, the one on the left of the sphere, was producing a light hum, just as it always had.
“Things seem stable here,” Roy said.
“Do we dare go into the west yard?” Steven asked. “That seems to be the hot spot. Any point in checking it out?”
“I think we have to try,” Roy said. “If something bad is happening, we have to stop it if we can. Either that or we might have to abandon the place; start hauling all those books and objects out of here.”
“Jason is buried here,” Steven said. “I’m not going to dig him up. No way. I’m not moving him.”
“Or Thomas,” Roy added.
“Let’s go check it out,” Steven said, turning to go back upstairs.
◊
They walked outside and around to the missing side of the house. It looked odd to see it neatly sheared off, exposing the interior of the walls, as though a giant blade had descended. Steven shuddered at the idea of being in the room when the blade came down.
The walls themselves didn’t contain anything but empty space – no studs or insulation or any kind of materials they’d expect to see inside a wall. Suddenly the lights brightened, and instead of looking like nighttime, it was more like the middle of the day. Steven held up his hand to shield his eyes.
“This light thing is starting to drive me batty,” Roy said.
“What could do something like that, take off a wall so cleanly?” Steven asked as he walked closer to it, looking straight inside the drawing room. He was faintly aware that he’d walked into the area the legend shelf had shown in yellow.
“I’m guessing the systems that run the place are screwed up somehow,” Roy said, joining him as they stepped up into the drawing room from the ground outside. “Either they fucked up on their own, or something from the outside has fucked them up.”
“The earthquake must have caused it, somehow.”
“Probably. Things seemed to be pretty stable before that.”
Steven turned and stepped back into the yard, and felt a coldness pierce thro
ugh him. He hadn’t felt anything like it since they’d been in the Unser Estate above, many months ago. It sunk into him and made him feel isolated and alone – it expanded into his arms and legs, and then his fingers, making him shiver. He clutched at his chest.
“Steven?” Roy asked. “What’s wrong?”
Steven saw movement in the yard, a lone figure drifting beyond the bushes at the far end of the landscaped area. He recognized it even from a distance. He turned and stepped back into the house, and ran out of the drawing room and into the hallway.
Roy followed him, confused. “Steven?” he called.
Steven ran to the other side of the house, not stopping until he reached the kitchen. He heard Roy coming right behind him, calling his name.
“Did you see her?” Steven asked as Roy rounded the corner into the kitchen.
“Who?” Roy asked.
Steven grabbed at his chest, pressing his palm into it, trying to alleviate the coldness. He winced.
“What is happening to you?” Roy asked, walking up to him and placing a hand on his shoulder. “Are you having a heart attack?”
“Cold,” Steven replied. “Just like before. It’s her, I’m telling you. I saw her out in the yard.”
“Who?”
“Anita,” Steven said, remembering the ghost of James Unser’s mother, how she’d tortured him and terrorized the others when they first visited the estate. “She was just beyond the bushes. You didn’t see her?”
“No, I didn’t,” Roy said. “I’m going to go back and check. Are you alright if I leave you for a second?”
“How could she be back?” Steven wondered aloud as he dropped to the kitchen floor, sitting with his back up against a wall. “We got rid of her. Could the objects have brought her back?”
“Wait here,” Roy said, walking out of the room. He returned to the library, looking into the drawing room from the hallway, scanning the horizon for any sign of Anita – or any other movement. He didn’t see anything in the yard, so he walked into the drawing room itself and up to the edge of the floor. He scanned the trees and bushes that made up the west side of the house, looking for Anita. Nothing.
The Haunting at Grays Harbor (The River Book 8) Page 4