Darkness Echoes: A Spooky YA Short Story Collection

by L. A. Starkey

  The decorations leading down the stairs no longer cheered her. Before she opened the front door to join her grandmother, Tori stopped. Her free hand hovered above the doorknob. “Jared, if you can hear me, please come back. It’s Halloween night, and I miss you.”

  The flickering inside the lamp danced in synch with flames from the candelabras. Silence filled the cavernous space. Even the decorative spiders seemed to be listening for a response. But none came.

  Tori drew in a breath. “I hope that wherever you are, you’re happy—whether that’s in Havenbrim, back in Machin’s workshop, or wherever it is that the light goes when his lanterns burn out. I’ll miss you, Jared. Even if no one ever believes me about meeting you, I will always remember.” She pressed her lips to the globe in a brief kiss before turning the doorknob and stepping outside.

  Chapter Fourteen

  “How lovely!” Tori’s grandmother set the tray of apples on a footstool and stood up; her blue eyes peered over her eyeglasses in admiration. “It’s more beautiful than I remember, especially now that it’s lit.”

  Tori forced a smile as she reached up to hang the lantern on one of the hooks. “Just in time for Halloween. Now the house will be easier to find.”

  “But where’s your friend—the one inside the lantern?”

  Tori frowned. “He’s not there, and I doubt he’ll be coming back.”

  Her grandmother wrapped an arm around her. “My dear, I’m sorry. You spent a great deal of time studying this mystery.” Her lips pursed for a moment; her eyes stared away as if she were deep in thought. “Do you still have the stethoscope?”

  “Yes. I brought your nursing bag down to give it back before we leave.” Tori pulled the instrument from the bag. “Thanks so much for letting me borrow it.” Her lower lip trembled as she handed the stethoscope to her grandmother. It’s really over now.

  “Keep it for a while longer.” Her grandmother pointed to the lantern. “Just because you don’t see him, doesn’t necessarily mean that you won’t be able to hear him.”

  Tori blinked, wondering who or what was crazier—her grandmother for suggesting such a thing or the leap of her heart at her grandmother’s suggestion. Her hands shook as she fumbled with the ear tips and stretched the chest piece out to the lantern’s globe.

  Her grandmother pressed her fingers to her lips as she watched.

  Breathing slowly, Tori calmed herself to dampen out the pulsing sound of her heart. She sighed. “I can’t hear—”

  “The moon.” Almost imperceptible, the voice was a whisper, the language of wind tinted with a deep, male tone.

  “J-Jared?”

  “Use the light of the moon.”

  Tori looked up at the sky; her mouth dropped open. The silhouette of moon she’d seen after trick-or-treating was now round and full. Its light intensified as time ticked by. “Grandma, do you see that? Tell me I’m not dreaming.” She looked back to see her grandmother squinting at the heavens with one hand shading her eyes.

  “If you’re dreaming then so am I, dear. The moon’s on fire tonight.”

  “Tonight’s a special night—Halloween was Machin’s favorite holiday.”

  Tori’s eyes darted back to the lantern. She gasped.

  “What is it, dear?”

  “You were right, Grandma. I do hear something—a voice inside the lantern. It’s Jared, but I don’t see him.”

  “Tilt the lantern toward the moon to catch the bend in the light.”

  Tori reached with her free hand, then paused. “I can’t.” What if it’s a trick? What if I end up inside the globe the way Jared did when he tended the lantern?

  “Tori, please. I need your help. Tonight’s my chance to be set free.”

  Torn between losing Jared and fearing the unknown, Tori swallowed back a lump in her throat. Shivers trailed along her shoulders to the tips of her fingers as the air surrounding the lantern warmed. A calming heat touched her face and permeated the hand that held the stethoscope’s chest piece.

  The flame inside the lantern flickered, and then began to change shape, lengthening and broadening into a human form. The pointed tip of the flame rounded into a head. Tori’s breathing slowed as the planes of Jared’s face became visible.

  He reached out; his tiny palm stretched along the glass. His eyes begged her trust. Tori covered his palm with a fingertip, and then pressed the globe forward, up toward the light of the moon.

  A beam of light extended from the moon to the lantern and from the lantern back toward the moon.

  “Thank you.”

  Jared’s form shifted; the shape of his body returned to flame. Before snuffing out completely.

  Breath escaped Tori’s lips in a muffled hiss.

  A wisp of smoke hovered inside the globe before a new flame appeared—a soft spark of light that brightened into a blaze of color. Fiery golds and magentas swirled together and crackled with blue sparks.

  The heat around the globe intensified. Tori continued to hold the globe up, tilted it toward the sky, until the beam that connected the globe to the moon paled and disappeared, trailing sparks of light that popped and sizzled out of sight like the fading lines of fireworks.

  “Let go.”

  Stunned, Tori dropped her hands from the lantern and looked around. “Jared?” His voice hadn’t reached her ears through the stethoscope.

  She caught a glimpse of her grandmother, who stood staring. The soft skin of the woman’s cheeks had gone slack with wonder. Tori had no doubt that she’d seen everything, right along with her. “Is that it? Are you gone?” She fought back a sob. “Did you burn out?”

  The lantern hung from the overhead hook, once again dark and cold. Tears glazed Tori’s eyes. She pulled the stethoscope’s ear tips from her ears, sniffling freely as she handed the instrument to her grandmother.

  “Please don’t cry. I’m here.”

  Nearly jumping out of her skin, Tori looked down. A figure sat cross-legged on the porch.

  “Young man, where did you come from?” The voice of Tori’s grandmother rang clear and tart. “How long have you been there in the shadows spying on us?” She blinked. “Or, are you—”

  A smile stretched across a male face, bathed in moonlight, as a hand raked through dark curls.

  “It’s him,” said Tori, leaping to his side. “In the lantern he can stand, but here in the real world, he can’t because…” She paused, embarrassed. “Can you stand if I help you?”

  Jared answered with a lopsided grin. “You’ve already helped me far more than you could ever know. As for standing—quite honestly, I haven’t been here long enough to find out.”

  He reached out and grasped a railing. Tori guided his opposite elbow as he raised himself up on one leg. A second foot struck the planks of the porch with a clanking sound.

  Jared’s brow furrowed. “What is this?” He lifted a pant leg. Pale moonlight reflected off a flash of metal.

  Tori’s grandmother fussed about, locating the porch light. “There we are. Let’s take a look.”

  Raising the pant leg higher, Jared unveiled a brassy, silvery contraption that had been shaped and molded to look like a real leg. He felt across a line of screws that circled his thigh. “It feels more like part of me than an attachment—unlike other prosthetics.”

  Tori’s eyes grew wide. “Can you move it?”

  Jared leaned back and balanced himself against the railing. “It’s heavy,” he said. With both hands he gripped the prosthetic behind the knee, smiling when the joint bent as he raised the upper half of his leg toward his chest.

  Something clinked against the back of the calf.

  “What’s this?” Tori asked, pointing out a brown square of paper, rough like cardboard and attached to the leg with a piece of twine.

  Jared shrugged. “It looks like a price tag. Can you read it?”

  Awkwardly, Tori bent to grasp the paper. “There’s no price, but there is a message.”

  “How strange. What does it say?”
>
  Tori perused the message silently, frowning with confusion before she read it aloud. “Being whole is more than recovering a lost appendage. The switch is in front, below the knee. I wish you the best, Machin.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  Jared’s dark eyes crinkled at the edges as he laughed. His fingers slid across the prosthetic, stopping when he found a piece of metal, barely visible, that stuck out exactly where Machin said it would be. Jared tapped the switch toward him.

  An electronic purr and the grinding of wheels resounded from inside the prosthetic. Jared’s eyes widened. His hands fell to his sides. Slowly, gently, as if a thought traveled from his brain, along his nerves, and attached to the muscles of a real leg, the prosthetic straightened and lowered to the ground.

  “It works,” Tori squeaked, flinging herself toward him. “You have your leg—the one you’ve always wanted.”

  Jared caught her in his arms. A flicker of pain passed his face, sending the muscles of his face twitching, before he set his jaw. He lifted Tori from the ground and turned, stiffly testing out the strength of his new leg. A long sigh followed. His lips settled into a quirked grin as he set her back down. “Nice costume, dear lollipop princess.”

  Tori’s cheeks flamed. In the flurry of happenings since returning from trick-or-treating with Kimmy, she’d forgotten that she was still wearing her flouncy dress and a wig that looked less like hair and more like cotton candy. “Oh—I—this is my Halloween costume I wore to take Kimmy trick-or-treating.”

  “I know. You look lovely both ways. I might even prefer the slippers to your hiking boots.”

  “Wait. How did you know I was a lollipop princess?”

  “You talked to yourself while getting ready,” he answered, amused by her horrified expression. Wincing, he added, “And also the night before in your sleep.”

  Tori flushed, extra grateful that she’d thought to cover the lantern with a quilt. “You heard me…”

  “Yes.” His head leaned in until their noses touched.

  Tori’s grandmother cleared her throat. Jared and Tori looked her way, both grimacing at the pallor of her skin.

  “Are you okay, Grandma?” Dumb question. She must be as freaked out as I am by all this. Not to mention embarrassed.

  “Yes—yes, I’m fine.” She took a moment to collect herself. Her cheeks regained their color as she held out a hand. “Pardon my manners earlier, Jared. My name is Alice. Welcome.”

  “Thank you.” Jared accepted her hand in a warm shake. Before he could absorb what was happening, his arms were filled with half the contents of the tray of caramel apples.

  “You must be starving, young man. Thirsty too! Come inside. I doubt we’ll be receiving any more visitors tonight.” She huffed quietly. “Thank goodness.”

  Tori followed her grandmother and Jared inside the house, watching as he took in the cavernous home and its festive, spooky decorations.

  “Follow me into the kitchen, young man. That will give Tori time to clean herself up before the hot chocolate’s ready.”

  Tori gaped as if the old lady had sprouted butterfly wings. Instead of arguing, she took direction from her grandmother’s hands that were frantically shooing her away. Two steps at a time, she ran upstairs to change out of her costume and drag a brush through the sweaty, matted hair trapped beneath her wig.

  ***

  While sipping hot chocolate, Tori stared at Jared as if worried he’d disappear if she looked away too long. She smoothed and unsmoothed the napkin that sat on her lap over her nicest pair of jeans. Inspired by Jared’s semiformal button-up shirt and pants, she’d also pulled on a sweater and a sparkly pair of earrings.

  “We’ll need to settle this before your parents return home, which I expect will be soon,” said her grandmother, eyeing a mantle clock set over the fireplace. Turning to Jared, she added, “You’re a minor, so of course, we’ll have to sort out your documentation and schooling; but you’re welcome to stay. You need a home. I have plenty of room here and would be lying if I said I couldn’t use the extra help.” She shrugged. “I don’t know what I’m saving up for anyway.”

  “You’re too kind, Mrs. Hale. I’d happily accept the position, especially if it means I’ll get to see Tori again.”

  “Yes, well, to ensure that will be possible, it’s probably best if we were to leave out the part about you having been inside the lantern, along with the bending of the light or whatever you told me was happening out there. My visits with my grandchildren are infrequent enough as it is.” Her cheeks sagged as she frowned. “I end up traveling to my son’s home more than anyone comes here to visit me.”

  Jared grinned at Tori. “When I introduce myself to your parents, I’ll speak the truth: that we met on Halloween night here at your grandmother’s house.”

  “Yeah, but only officially.” She raised her palms. “That’s fine, though. I don’t want to bring up the subject of my nightly visits outside. But won’t you miss Havenbrim at all? Don’t you want to finish your apprenticeship with Machin?”

  Jared and Tori’s grandmother shared a knowing glance. “While you were upstairs, I explained to Mrs. Hale that I never belonged to Havenbrim,” he said. “I never fit in there. Machin offered me something more than an apprenticeship. He gave me an extraordinary gift, and not just a leg. He gave me new friends. A new home. A whole new life. Thank you, Tori.”

  “Thank me for what? I didn’t do anything except for stumble across you in the woods.”

  “If you hadn’t found me, I might have missed my chance at this new life. You believed in me; you brought me to awareness. Before you, I was nothing but a memory trapped inside the light. You opened a passageway out of the darkness.”

  Tori gazed at an empty mug as she let Jared’s words sink in. A tender smile played across her lips. “Well, if you put it that way—” She tilted her head up. “You’re welcome.”

  Hordes of butterflies inside her stomach flittered wildly at the look Jared gave her in return.

  A knock at the door dampened the moment.

  “They’re here.” Tori’s grandmother shot up out of her seat. “Stay calm. We’ve discussed the matter. We have a plan. Everything will be wonderful.”

  Wow, nervous much? Tori shook her head in disbelief. She’d never seen her grandmother so much on edge. Her heart softened, knowing how important it was for her grandmother to get to spend time with her and Kimmy.

  “Tori?”

  She looked up, straight into Jared’s deep brown eyes. “Yes?”

  “What will they think of me?”

  “They have no reason to distrust you, and I’m sure Grandma will give you a glowing review. Here they come now.”

  “Carl, Megan, this is Jared—the young man I was telling you about that Tori met tonight. I invited him in from the cold. He’s looking for work; and since he’s a long way from home, I thought he could stay here for the night.”

  Tori’s father sized up Jared with his eyes, and to Tori’s relief, gave him the same quirky grin that he’d give Adam or any other boy Tori knew from school. “Good too meet you, Jared.”

  “Thank you, sir.”

  “Nice manners, kid, but Carl’s fine by me.”

  “Yes, nice to meet you, Jared.” Tori’s mother smiled. “How was trick-or-treating tonight, hon?”

  “Great. Kimmy was awesome. We came back exhausted.”

  “Speaking of exhausted—” Tori’s grandmother sat down, appearing as if all the life had been drained from her. “I’d like to hear how dinner went with the Thompsons before I fall asleep here in the kitchen. Tori, be a dear and show Jared the library, the computers or whatever interests today’s youth.” Her eyes glittered. “You might like to watch a scary movie.”

  Tori pecked her grandmother on the cheek, grateful for the escape.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Unsure whether Jared had ever seen a movie, given some of his oddly archaic behavior, she went with her grandmother’s first suggestion and showed him to
the library. He stepped lightly across the carpet, his head tilted back, marveling at all of the books that lined the walls.

  “All of this belongs to Mrs. Hale?”

  “Yep, and knowing my grandma she’s probably read most of the books in here. She spent a lot of time studying and was a nurse at one time.” Tori flashed a smile. “Her career’s what inspired me to use the stethoscope to hear you talking to me inside the lantern.”

  “That idea was a stroke of genius. You and your grandmother are alike. Do you think she’ll let me use this library if I stay here with her?”

  Tori’s mouth opened and closed. “I thought you’d already decided—before I came back downstairs from changing.”

  “It’s a wonderful opportunity, and I’d be a fool to say no, but what I really want is to stay with you.” He stepped closer and traced his knuckles across her cheekbone.

  Tori gulped. “I’d love to be able to see you every day, but my parents would never allow it. We can chat on the phone, but as far as seeing each other in person, the best we’ll get are visits. And that’s assuming my parents don’t find it weird that Grandma’s new employee will be staying with us.” Sensing his disappointment, Tori added, “I’m sure Grandma will work something out to convince them that you’re also a travel companion. They’ll probably be excited about that—Dad especially worries about her traveling alone. But, still, that doesn’t give us a lot of time together. We won’t see each other every day, not yet. I have to finish school—”

  Jared looked at her, his eyes thoughtful. “Your parents won’t hire me?”

  “Oh, no. They can’t—our house isn’t anything like this. Grandma’s situation is…special.” She elbowed him gently. “Besides, you might need to spend some time getting used to Charlottesville, Virginia. I’ll bet there are many things you’ll find different from Havenbrim, Llum.”