Emily relaxed, letting out a long breath. A few moments passed before Liam spoke again. “Are you sure you’re okay with tonight?”
She lifted her head to look at him. “I am. Truthfully, I don’t want to be alone. I’ll feel better if I’m at least near you guys. I’ll admit, I’m nervous as hell, but I want to know what is going on. And like you said, if this thing is focusing around me, maybe me doing the investigation with you three will help get answers faster.”
“What about trying to find your birth parents? Are you still okay with that?”
“Yeah. I’m okay with finding out who they were. But if we do locate them, I don’t want to talk to them.”
“Don’t worry. Me and the guys will figure something out. If you don’t want to see or talk to them, then you won’t have to.”
“What will happen tonight?” Emily asked as she lay her head back down.
Liam tightened his grip around her and said, “It will take a bit to get set up. We’ll set up different cameras and make sure everything is working right. Then we’ll go over a plan of action as to how to start. We’ll show you how to use the full spectrum camera. I just want you to take pictures. If you feel something or have an urge to take a photo, take it. We’ll let you know if we need you to take a photo of a particular spot. It will be very dark. We investigate in full darkness, but we’ll have night vision cameras so we can navigate. Just stay close to me. It will be okay.”
“Alright. I can do that.” Her breathing had finally calmed, and she yawned. “I’m so tired.”
“Sleep. We have a long night ahead of us. Let’s take a nap. When we wake up, we’ll eat and get started.” Liam grabbed the comforter that he’d left from the previous night and covered them. Within minutes they were both asleep.
***
Pictures flashed in his consciousness, taking him back to the night when his ability to make choices freely was stripped, trapping him within the walls of a home once belonging to him. He had chosen to stay behind, but it was the seeing woman who cursed him, confining him to the building.
Over the years, he had grown stronger. Using his power to see outside of the confines of the house. When he sensed the aura of his love returning to the Earth, his ability to subconsciously travel allowed him to keep watch. Only something consistently worked against him. It held him back, keeping his grasp on her, yet at the same time, just out of reach.
Now, she had returned and was in his territory, where he was strongest. He would have her. Eventually, she would fully belong to him.
Sixteen
“S
o basically, the full spectrum is just a modified camera that allows for more UV and IR light to pass through and allows an image of a spirit to be captured.”
“Right,” Emily held her hand out to Liam. “It looks just like a regular point and shoot camera.”
“It is.” Liam placed the camera in her hand. “It has an SD card and a fully charged battery. But, I’ll give you this.” He picked up a large fanny pack and unlatched the buckle. Liam guided the straps around Emily’s waist and connected the two ends, adjusting the straps so it sat comfortably on her waist. “There are extra batteries and SD cards in here. Sometimes on investigations, spirits will drain batteries from electronics and mess with the way they work. If that happens, switch out whatever you need, and we will question it later.
“Alright.”
“I think we should start here at Emily’s since this is where the most activity has happened,” Liam announced. They all agreed, and when Luke returned from making sure all of the lights were off in the building, they got started.
Just like on every other investigation, Liam took the lead and began asking questions using the EVP recorder.
“Tell us your name?”
“Why are you following Emily?”
They used almost every piece of equipment they had during the first few hours. Nothing showed up on thermal. The motion detectors remained silent. And no disembodied voices had been picked up.
Frustration crept up on Liam. After everything they had experienced recently, it was discouraging to be three hours into an investigation and not have any evidence.
Because there hadn’t been any strange activity in Liam’s flat on the top level, the team decided to focus their energy in Emily’s flat and the basement. With the lack of evidence, Trey suggested that they try splitting up, each of them taking a different area of the building. Trey was now in Liam’s flat, and Luke was in Emily’s.
“Okay, now it’s pitch black down here,” Liam said to Emily as they descended the stairs to the basement. “I have the night vision camera so we can use that to see where we are going. Stay close and hang on to me.”
“Don’t worry,” Emily responded. “I’m not letting go.”
It wasn’t only the shaky tone in Emily’s voice that gave her nervousness away. She had a death grip on Liam’s waist, her fingers digging into his sides. The heat from her hands seared through his shirt and imprinted on his skin. Sparks of electricity traveled through her hands and into his body. Her grasp was so tight, he was sure she would leave marks on him.
Liam commended her for sticking around and assisting them a few times already. Most people couldn’t handle being in pitch blackness knowing a location was haunted. He was damn proud of her courage and determination.
Liam guided Emily down the wooden stairs, into the bowels of the building. The stale scent of the concrete foundation and walls hit him. His eyes watered at an unfamiliar dank odor that he’d never smelled before. His senses screamed at him that something was off. Years of experience told him to stay alert. If he blinked, he might be taken off guard.
Liam kept his eyes trained on the screen of his night vision camera as he asked, “How are you doing?”
“I’m fine. I just hate it down here, and with the lights off, it’s even worse.”
He felt Emily step to his side. Her hand remained on his waist. “If it gets to be too much, let me know,” he whispered to her. “We’ll stop and take a break.”
Emily squeezed his waist a bit harder when she replied, “I will.”
Liam normally never paused in the middle of an investigation, but this was Emily’s first time doing any kind of paranormal work. He’d only sprung the idea of her joining them earlier that day, and he wasn’t about to push her, especially after everything that had happened to her recently.
As they rounded the bottom of the stairs, Liam felt Emily stop abruptly, halting his forward movement. “What is it?” As soon as the words escaped Liam’s lips, he felt it. An intense instinct to run washed over him, and it took everything he had to tamp down his fear so as not to alarm Emily. Even with all of the years of investigating under his belt, he couldn’t help his body’s natural reaction to tense.
“Something is here with us. We’re being watched.”
“I feel it too.” Eyes were watching them. Liam couldn’t see where they were, but he felt them. Piercing glares bared down on them. A fuzziness came over him. A hazy fog clouded his mind, and he couldn’t think clearly. Each thought increased his exhaustion level.
Liam knew it was the entity’s way of trying to control his emotions, and he pushed the fear down and asked Emily to begin another EVP session.
Emily held up the recorder and spoke.
“Is anyone here with us?”
Silence.
“What is your name?”
Silence.
“Where are you from?”
While Emily asked questions, Liam continued to scan their surroundings through the night vision camera’s viewfinder and guided Emily through the basement's darkness.
“It’s cold,” Emily said. Her voice shook with a shiver.
“Yes, it is. It wasn’t this cold a minute ago.” Liam moved the camera around some more and froze at the image on the viewing screen. He reached for his walkie talkie, held it up to his mouth, and spoke to both Trey and Luke. “Guys, can you read me?”
Luke respond
ed first. “Yep. Whad’ya got?”
“Do we have anything to break this lock on the apartment door? I also need an EMF detector. Somethings down here with me and Emily. I swore I just saw a mist go through the locked door.”
“Copy that,” Luke replied. “I’ll grab one and bring it to you. As for the lock, we weren’t able to get anything to break through it today. I don’t know if we have anything in the van. But I’ll take a look.”
“Copy that.” Liam placed the walkie talkie back in his pocket and looked over at Emily. The air was cooling rapidly, and she was shivering.
“Hey, sweetheart. Let’s take a break. We’ll go help Luke out in the van.”
“Okay.” Emily turned slightly toward the stairs, anxious to leave the dark subterranean room. “I could use some fresh air.”
“Okay. Let’s—” A loud bang cut Liam off. Both he and Emily jumped, and he hugged her to his side. Emily’s breathing sped, and his own heart threatened to break through his chest. “It’s okay,” he whispered to her. “I’ve got you. Let’s get out of here. I’ll figure out what that was later.”
Liam guided Emily toward the stairs, and they walked up together. Halfway up, a blast of cold wind rushed through them, nearly knocking both of them backward. Emily dropped to her knees, and Liam managed to swing himself around and crouch on the step behind her, making sure she didn’t fall any further. A frigid tunnel of icy wind swirled around them. The bitter chill making it difficult to take a breath. Liam grabbed Emily by the arm and hauled her upstairs as fast as he could.
When they reached the top landing, he yelled, “Trey!”
A moment later, Trey was running down the stairs from Liam’s flat. “What the fuck happened?” Trey asked when he made it to Liam’s side.
Liam stood in front of Emily. Her chest moved rapidly with each laborious breath as she leaned against the wall. Her hands grasped his upper arms. Liam leaned over her, caging her between his body and the wall.
Liam lowered himself and placed his forehead on hers while he spoke to Trey. “We were in the basement. We felt a tremendous temperature shift. That’s when I radioed to you guys that we need to get into this locked room. We decided to come back up because it was becoming too much for Emily. Then, we heard a loud bang, we booked it up the stairs. We were halfway up when a fucking cold breeze—No, not a breeze, a fucking whirlwind—went right through us. Almost knocked both of us back down the stairs.”
“Shit,” Trey mumbled. “Let’s get her outside.”
Liam nodded in agreement. “Give her a minute first. She’s really shaky.”
Emily looked up at Liam, eyes wide and pleading. “Get me out of here.”
Without another word, Liam wrapped his arm around her shoulder and led her out of the house and down the steps to the parked van in front. Luke was already aware of them rushing down the steps and helped Emily into the back of the van. Trey followed close behind. He carried a blanket that he’d grabbed from Emily’s flat and handed it to Liam.
Liam settled Emily in front of the monitors in the back of the work van that the team used as headquarters while on investigations. He grabbed a jacket that he always kept handy and put it on. Hoping the lightweight fabric would ease the chill he felt still coursing through him. A few feet away, Liam heard Trey filling Luke in on the activity that had just taken place.
“What was that?” Emily asked.
“My guess is that something doesn’t want us down there,” Liam answered. His voice carried a bit of enthusiasm. He couldn’t help the giddiness take over. Whenever contact was made with a spirit, the rush always shocked him at first, followed by a thrill of excitement. His only regret was that Emily had been with him, and she was now frightened by the activity. He reminded himself that the occurrence was a good thing, despite the fear that it caused. He had recorded the mist he’d seen in the basement on the night vision camera. He was also sure he’d caught the moment when he and Emily had almost been knocked down the stairs. Their job was to gather as much evidence as possible and use it to help rid people of hauntings. They had accomplished that. Now, they just needed to figure out who or what the entity was and how to detach it from Emily. “Something wants to keep us away from that locked room.”
“But we aren’t giving up, right?” Emily stared at Liam with bravery. “We’re still going in. Can we break the lock to find out what the fuck is hiding out in there?”
Liam heard both Trey and Luke chuckle behind him. He couldn’t help but smile at Emily. “Yes, we are. But not tonight. After what just happened, I’m not taking any chances with pissing it off any further until we find out more about what we are dealing with. There will be another investigation soon.” He told her while leaning forward, taking in her sweet scent. “I’m going back in there with Luke to finish up. Trey will stay here with you. You’ll be able to watch us on the monitors.”
“I really want to go with you. But I don’t think I can just yet.”
“I know you do. You stay here and get warm. Trey will make some coffee.”
Emily glanced around, her brow furrowed, confusion clearly visible on her face.
Trey stepped into the van and pulled a small portable coffee maker out from one of the shelves.
“We always make sure we can brew coffee anytime, no matter where we are.” Liam said as he pulled Emily close to him.
“It’s hard to get coffee in the middle of the night, and sometimes our investigations are in remote places.” Trey plugged the coffee pot into a power strip that ran to the main power in the house. He grabbed a bottle of water and a bag of coffee from a crate that also held a supply of coffee cups and powder creamer.
“Wow. You guys are really resourceful.”
Liam placed a kiss on her lips. “I need to make a phone call. Are you okay by yourself for a minute?”
“Yes, I’ll be fine.” She smiled at him and kissed him back.
Liam stepped out of the van and pulled his phone out of his back pocket. He swiped it open and sent a text message. A moment later, a ping notification sounded, and he pressed his dad’s speed dial number.
“Son? What’s going on?”
“Hey, Dad. I don’t have a lot of time to explain, but I was wondering if you and mom are around this weekend. I need to be somewhere where I can think clearly and know Emily is safe. I want to bring her down to Carmel for a few days. Longer if I can convince her.”
“We are in town. Don’t plan on going anywhere. Especially now that I know you two need a safe house.”
Liam chuckled at his father’s statement.
“Head on down here as soon as you can. Are Trey and Luke coming with you?”
“I don’t think they need to come. I don’t want to—”
“Bullshit?” Liam’s dad interrupted. “You bring those boys with you. You know your mom would love to see them. It’s quiet here. Your mom and I spend most of our days on the beach anyway. Bring everyone down. You guys can work, and Emily will be safe here. You’ll have a larger support system while you research.”
Liam knew it was no use arguing with his dad. Once Clayton Wesley made up his mind, it was set in stone. “Okay, Dad. I’ll talk to everyone later, and we’ll head down in a couple days.”
“Good. You have the spare key. Don’t worry about calling before you arrive. Just head down when you can. See you soon.”
“Thanks, Dad.”
Liam ended the call. It was time to make this investigation a priority. This haunting had already proven itself to be dangerous. The question was, why now? And where and how did he and Emily fit into all of it?
Seventeen
The drive down the coast was beautiful. Emily stared out the window and watched as they drove along an endless stretch of the coastline. The sky was blue, and a blanket of grey lay out on the horizon, waiting for the sun to set before it inched its way back to hug the land, creating an interesting contrast while shadows from the clouds danced on the ocean below.
It had taken Liam some t
ime to convince Emily that time spent away from the house would do both of them some good. She was nervous about meeting his parents. But, Liam explained that he needed to be in a place where he knew she was safe, away from the flat where the activity surrounding her seemed to be the strongest. And, somewhere he could think more clearly while he and the team completed their research. After hearing him out, Emily agreed. Maybe it would be good to get away from the stress of the haunting for a while. She just hoped it didn’t follow her to his parents’ house.
Trey and Luke were making their way down the coast as well. Liam assured Emily that his parents’ house had more than enough space to accommodate everyone. Though she was still nervous, the thought of maybe getting a peaceful night’s sleep outweighed her apprehension. She hadn’t slept for more than a couple of hours at a time since arriving in San Francisco. The lack of sleep was beginning to wear her down.
Emily turned and looked at Liam. His arm rested across the center counsel, his hand holding hers in her lap. His other hand gripped the steering wheel. “You doing okay?” he asked her.
“Mmhmm. I already feel so much better. Relaxed.”
Liam smiled at her and raised their hands, kissing the back of hers. “Good. Still nervous?”
Emily wrinkled her nose. “A little. Isn’t this strange? We’ve only just met.”
Liam chuckled. “Baby. My parents are not the conventional type. They were engaged a month after meeting. And eloped a few weeks later.”
“You’re kidding.” Emily’s eyes widened.
“Nope. They’ve always said they knew they were meant to be together the moment they laid eyes on each other. So, trust me when I say, you really don’t need to be nervous. They’re excited to meet you.” Liam brought her hand up to his lips. The feel of his breath lingered on her skin. “You have nothing to fear. They love having company and practically begged me to bring Trey and Luke. So, no worrying, okay?”
“Alright.” Emily exhaled and shifted her body, resting her head more comfortably in the seat.
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