Looking closer at Lucretia, he didn’t have to wonder why she gave him such a vile, hate-filled expression. She wanted him dead. The way she squeezed her hands around his neck told him that much. That, along with the weight on his chest, explained why he had so much trouble breathing.
How could he fight her without the ability to move? Any hope that he might have had of pushing her away now dispersed as quietly and slowly as the air that sifted out of his chest.
Logan regained his focus, and he settled his gaze on the monstrosity hovering over him.
Iron links were wrapped around the witch. And while they bound her wrists together, she still had enough room between her palms to press them against either side of his neck…and exert a tremendous amount of pressure.
If Logan didn’t act quickly, he presumed she’d crush his windpipe. A surge of hysteria shocked his system, but he tamped down the emotions from overtaking him. Losing his mind would only hasten his demise.
Since he couldn’t count on Eloise or his siblings to step in and throttle the witch, Logan needed to regain his composure. That was a tall order when considering the circumstances. He looked to his right, focused on his hand, and worked on twitching his left index finger.
It moved. Joy spiked his confidence. Next, he curled his palm. He didn’t have time to celebrate each small victory, so he went onwards: shifting his elbow and arm, followed by his shoulder. He turned it towards his head. It helped him pivot his body to the left.
Lucretia rolled with him, tilting sideways. But her posture and position on him didn’t shift even an inch, appearing as though gravity hadn’t affected her. And in this instance, it didn’t because she was not corporeal. The idea that she would keep her bearings no matter where he went or what he did sent a shiver of fear up his spine.
That emotion also forced him to stop thinking about moving one body part at a time. No longer letting his mind lead him, he allowed instinct to take control. He rolled over and fell onto his stomach.
Lucretia vanished. Not so much as a sound escaped her.
Other than the inability to breathe and the pressure on his chest, it was as if the entire encounter hadn’t happened. Maybe the witch disappeared because she still thought in mortal terms, the kind where she had a physical body, and in that case, she wouldn’t have wanted to get smothered.
Logan no longer strained to snap up every breath, but his throat felt raw from the assault. He was glad to once again have a full range of motion but even happier that Lucretia disappeared.
“Are you okay?” Eloise asked from behind him.
Shifting to his hands and knees, he swerved around to meet her stare and winced as he swallowed. He shook his head.
Eloise ran over and skidded to a stop beside him, placing a hand on his back. “What happened?” Her gaze swept up and down his body. “What’s wrong?”
Ashleigh shifted under her blanket. “What’s going on?”
“Attacked,” Logan said. “By the witch.”
“What?” his sister asked, her voice raising a few octaves. She jerked around, eyes wide, now fully awake. “Lucretia was here? She hurt you?” Fear entered her eyes as she surveyed the family room. “Where is she? I don’t see her. Is she here?”
“No,” said Eloise in a heightened tone as examined the area. “She’s gone.”
Logan glared at her face until she locked onto his eyes. “Where,” he said, grinding his teeth, “were you?”
“The bathroom. I’m sorry. I wasn’t gone long. I didn’t think—”
“That bitch latched onto me. I barely got her off.”
“I’m sorry,” she repeated.
“I thought you could tell when she was near?”
“I can. But I was in another room behind a closed door.”
Anger still burned inside him, but he couldn’t slight her for her response. No one could. What did he expect? That she would wake him up to let him know that nature called? He worked on collecting himself.
“What did she do?” asked Eloise, a look of self-hatred in her eyes. She checked his throat. “Thankfully, your skin is unmarked.”
“She sat on my chest. She was choking me.”
A squeak left Ashleigh’s mouth as her palms flew to her face and covered her nose. She breathed heavily behind her hands, emitting loud gasps as if trying to imitate Darth Vader if he suffered a panic attack.
Eloise, breathing in jagged bursts, held Logan’s gaze. “I can only imagine that the curse gives her powers beyond that which a ghost has at its disposal.”
“Did something happen?” Tyler mumbled.
“Get up,” said his sister. “It was here: the ghost.”
For a few seconds, Tyler didn’t react. Perhaps he was clearing the haze from his mind, but then, in a burst of energy, he shot up and sat with his arms crossing his chest. “She was? Why? What did she do? What did she want?”
“Me,” Logan admitted. “She’s gone though.” Now that the witch hadn’t returned and everyone was awake, he’d finally gotten a grip and took a few minutes to explain what happened.
Afterward, Eloise sat on the ground, wrapping her arms around knees that were pressed against her chest. Her downcast expression revealed sadness and guilt. Ashleigh sat in the corner of the sofa with the blanket over her shoulders, shivering, while Tyler stared at his older brother, frozen in place, so overtaken by the story that he hadn’t blinked in quite some time.
Logan crawled over to Eloise and took her hands from her knees. “Hey.”
That simple movement made moisture spring into her eyes.
He moved closer until he sat beside her. He extended an arm around her shoulder and pulled her into an embrace. “I’m sorry if I got upset. I was just scared. It’s not your fault.”
Her back hitched a few times as half-drawn breaths started and stopped in her throat. “I should have been there.” Tears spilled from her eyes.
“Don’t blame yourself.” Logan nestled his head next to hers until their temples touched. He hated that he’d immediately turned on her. It was a heat of the moment response that he wished he could take back. “That’s not fair to you. I overreacted.”
She nodded and sniffled.
“Now what?” asked Tyler. “What do we do? How do we stop her?”
Logan had no idea. He’d need Eloise’s help on that one. He just wouldn’t press her for answers now, not when her self-confidence was shaken. He could relate. But one look at his siblings told him that they’d need to find an answer quick. Because he didn’t think they’d last too long without losing their minds.
“We’ll need to…” Eloise took a measured breath, but exhaling made her frame shake. “We’ll need to do a séance.”
“A séance?” Logan asked, so surprised by that response that he rocked backward a little. “That’s when you call upon a spirit to visit, right?”
“That’s dangerous,” said Tyler, glancing from left to right as a dubious look gripped him.
“Not if you know what you’re doing,” Eloise said.
“Who do you want to speak with?” Logan asked, intrigued yet frightened by the idea.
“The one who started this whole thing: your great-grandfather, Abner.”
23
“Why?” The word shot from Ashleigh’s mouth, full of vitriol. “He was a murderer. We don’t want him here.” Her body still shook, but anger seemed to have replaced her fear. She leaned forward with her upper lip curled into a snarl.
“Believe me,” Eloise said, raising a hand to appease Ashleigh. “I don’t want him here either. But we need him. He’s the only one who can tell us about Lucretia. He might know about this curse. If he does, he might know how to break it.”
“That’s a great idea,” Logan said, “but Ashleigh’s right. The guy’s a killer. What if he does something to us?”
“He’s your great-grandfather. I could be completely wrong about this, but if there’s anyone he might not kill, it would be his own family members. I’d imagine he’d b
e curious about you, don’t you think?”
“It’s a shitty idea,” his sister said. “Logan, we can’t invite him into our house. What if he comes back later…after the séance, when we don’t want him to?”
Eloise said, “I’ll be careful to close contact and make sure he leaves for good.”
“You can do that?” asked Tyler.
“Yes.”
“How many of these have you done?” Logan asked.
“This will be my first.”
“What?” Ashleigh rocketed forth so quickly, she leapt off the couch and stood over her older brother and Eloise. “You’ve never done a séance, and for your first try, you plan to bring a murderer into our house? No way. I won’t let you.”
Logan also had reservations. He didn’t necessarily want Eloise to take such a big risk without having the experience necessary to control the situation. But it’s not like he could use the equivalent of a Grubhub app for those who’ve done séances and have someone stop over in fifteen minutes.
More than that, the idea of a séance frightened him. He knew nothing about them. He didn’t know the dangers associated with them. But again, he didn’t have any alternatives, and if Eloise thought this was a wise course of action, he’d stand by her.
“Logan,” his sister said, “I like her too, but you can’t let her—”
“Okay,” he said, animosity shooting into his veins as quickly as it took to flip a switch. He smacked his hands together. “We’ll do nothing. We’ll let Lucretia come back. And if I see her, I’ll point her to your bedroom. I’m sure she’ll take things from there.”
Ashleigh planted a foot forward, stuck out a hip, and leveled him with a steady glare. “You’re such an—”
“Do you have a better suggestion?”
“Than inviting that insane witch into my room? No, I don’t know much about all this stuff.”
“You were the one who wanted me to get books on the paranormal. Then you wanted me to contact Eloise. Finally, you asked that she stay overnight to help. And now, after that ghost strangled me, you want to…what, just ask Eloise to go home? Don’t you think we ought to trust her the way you’ve done this entire time?”
“Of course I want her to stay.” Ashleigh’s voice softened a bit. So did her determined stare. Reluctantly, she dragged her gaze over to Eloise. “Listen, I’m sorry. It’s just…Lucretia was toying with us before, but now that you’re here, she’s all of a sudden trying to kill Logan? Don’t those two things seem connected?”
“Eloise told us paranormal activity intensifies the more power Lucretia gets from us. We had to expect that would happen, and we already knew Lucretia wanted to kill us. This has nothing to do with Eloise.” Logan eyed her with concern. “Are you worried about this séance going sideways?”
“Well, yeah, aren’t you?”
“Of course, but we can’t let that stop us from trying. We need to try everything we can to figure out a way out of this.”
Ashleigh looked over at Eloise. “Do you know anyone who has done a séance before? No offense, but someone who knows exactly what they’re doing?”
“Performing a séance is easy,” Eloise responded in a calm manner. “You could conduct one. What’s important is having a medium at the table to communicate with the spirit you want to contact. Without that, there’s no reason to be at the table.”
“So why do I feel so unsure about this?” she asked.
“Because, as you said, we’re asking to speak with a murderer.”
Ashleigh thought that over. “There has to be another way.”
“Have your ancestors published memoirs?” Eloise asked. “Or written a family history? If so, they may have written about Lucretia.”
Logan shook his head.
“Then this is our best shot?” Ashleigh asked.
Eloise nodded.
“Let’s do it right now,” Tyler said. “So we don’t chicken out.”
Logan saw the determination in Tyler’s eyes. He also wanted to deal with this as soon as possible. He turned to his sister. “Are you with us?”
She took in a bunch of air and then nodded as she let it out.
Eloise said, “Do you have three candlesticks and a candelabrum or holders for them? We’ll need to set them up on the kitchen table.”
“I’ll get them.” Ashleigh dashed out of the room.
Logan got up and led Tyler and Eloise to the kitchen. Tyler hopped up on the countertop behind the table, his legs swinging in the air while he tapped his hands against his thighs.
“Do you have any personal effects from Abner?” she asked.
“Not that I know of.”
Eloise sat down at the head of the table. “That’s okay. We can use the letter your father wrote. Some mediums like to use an offering, something that would welcome the spirit to visit us. Since you’re from Abner’s line, he shouldn’t need much encouragement to drop by, but once we get him here, I’d still like to use something to persuade him to stay. We’ll use the message for that purpose. Abner might want to know what his offspring said about him.”
Logan took a seat beside her and gestured to the page in the middle of the table. “But if Abner’s dead and so are his son and grandson, wouldn’t he already know what my father wrote in that letter? Wouldn’t they have communicated?”
Eloise wouldn’t meet his gaze. “I’ve never asked a spirit if he or she contacts others on the other side and what they discuss, so I couldn’t tell you.”
Whenever they had talked in the past, Eloise had never failed to look him in the eye. This time, her blatant disregard made his insides squirm. “I get the idea that you’re not telling me everything.”
She finally made eye contact with him. “This is the first time I’ve done a séance, remember? I’ve communicated with earthly spirits, not those beyond the veil. I don’t know what happens there.” She set her gaze on his brother. “Tyler, I’m sorry, but you’re too young to take part.”
Stunned, his mouth shot open as he frowned. “Why?”
“When we begin, I need total concentration and calm around the kitchen table. You can be mature for your age, but you’re still only ten years old. I know you don’t like hearing that, but it’s not safe for you to join us.”
His grimace deepened as he exhaled in disgust. “This sucks.”
“See?” Logan pointed at his brother’s expression. “That’s why you’re not ready.”
Ashleigh arrived at the kitchen and sat opposite her brother.
Eloise had explained that they needed at least three people to take part. Any less than that, and they wouldn’t be able to create a circle, which was necessary for the ritual. “Both of you will need to write out a set of questions that Logan will ask Abner. We have to be relaxed, prepared, and respectful.”
Over the next half hour, Logan and his siblings wrote questions they’d pose to Abner in hopes that he might give them more insight into Lucretia’s psyche and the curse she’d put into effect. Afterward, Tyler left the room to play a videogame with the volume muted in the family room, and Eloise explained how the séance would be conducted.
Eloise lit three long, red candlesticks set in imitation gold holders that were placed in a triangular fashion at the center of the table. Ashleigh went over and closed the curtains to block the sunlight from entering the kitchen, cloaking them in gloom except for the candlelight.
Logan placed a sheet of paper upon which he’d written close to a dozen questions he’d pose to his great-grandfather. The moment Logan accomplished that task, the notion that had already affected Ashleigh, inviting a dead murderer into their home, made him grow lightheaded and more than a little nauseous. He’d have been nervous if they were contacting his father, who had been kind and gentle, but now that the moment had nearly arrived to begin the séance, Logan began having second thoughts about contacting his murderous great-grandfather.
After all, few people kill even one person in a lifetime. Abner killed three. It meant they would m
ost likely encounter a deranged spirit. They couldn’t even guess how such an unpredictable ghost might respond. He still didn’t like it, but as he told Ashleigh, they had no other options, so he reluctantly kept his mouth shut.
Eloise sat at the head of the circular kitchen table. Logan was to her right with Ashleigh across from him. She held out her hands to both of them.
Logan took their palms in his. Ashleigh’s hand was slick with perspiration. When he looked up at her, she kept glancing around the room and licking her lips and swallowing. He didn’t want her nervousness to affect him, but his hands now felt a little unsteady. “Hey.” He tightened his grasp for a moment on her palm before releasing it in hopes of giving them both a needed shot of courage. “It’s going to be okay.”
“Clear your mind,” said Eloise.
Ashleigh let out a nervous chuckle.
Logan had been so determined to get this over with that he hadn’t truly considered his sister’s comfort level. He didn’t want to pressure her into something she didn’t feel ready for, and now that he looked at it from that vantage point, he knew he’d done exactly that. “If you’re not ready, we can do this at another time.”
“No.” Ashleigh snapped her head toward him as a tremor went through her hand. “We’re doing it right this moment. I won’t get the courage later. It’s now or never.”
Eloise turned her way and examined Ashleigh’s expression. “We’ll wait until you’re ready.”
“Okay.” Ashleigh straightened in her chair and her palm stopped shaking. She took in a few breaths and let them out evenly. “I’m as ready as I’ll ever be.”
Logan was proud of her for facing her fears instead of shrinking from them. He met her eyes with a look of concern, but he’d seen Ashleigh’s fear-filled expression fused with resolve in the past. Ashleigh, through sheer will alone, would endure this session whether she liked it or not. But she would also not say a word. He’d need to keep an eye on her. And thinking so much about her made his skittishness ebb since he’d also be busy questioning Abner.
“That’s better.” Eloise closed her eyes. “My name is Eloise. I’d like to speak with Abner Pryce, the great-grandfather of Logan and Ashleigh Pryce.” Her eyebrows pulled together. “Abner Pryce, we welcome you to visit us. We seek your knowledge and insight.”
The Descendants Page 17