Protecting His Windflower (A Spirit Hunters Series Novel Book 1)

by Temperance Dawn

  “Yes. I’m okay. I feel a little on edge. Obviously, a little jumpy. But I’m okay.”

  “If things get really intense, I want you to leave the building and go sit in the van. I don’t want anything to happen to you. You’re new at this and have a lot to learn still.”

  “I want to be here. I need to be here.”

  “I know you do. You know we will share everything with you. Being in the van still makes you a hundred percent a part of this team. Like I said, there is still so much for you to learn. Whatever this thing is seems to be hell-bent on destroying us. You’ve gotten this far without being physically harmed by it, and I want to keep it that way. Lexi already told Trey that she doesn’t mind being in the van and keeping an eye on all the cameras. If things get intense, you’ll be with her. You’ll be able to keep an eye on us from the van. Just like last time. Okay?”

  “Guys?” Luke called from the outside hallway. Liam and Emily made their way to the front door and looked around the corner. Trey looked down from the top landing.

  “Yeah?” Both Liam and Trey said in unison.

  “I’m getting ready to break this lock,” Luke called from the end of the hall.

  Liam glanced at Emily. She gave him a subtle nod. He took her hand and walked toward Luke. Lexi followed Trey down the stairs from the upper level of the building. “We’re right behind you.”

  Twenty-Five

  Trey and Luke stood on either side of Liam while Emily and Lexi hung back. He held a pair of bolt clippers in his hand, with the cutting end around the shackle of the large, heavy-duty lock. It took a bit of muscle, but the cutters broke through the steel, and the lock fell to the basement floor with a loud clunk. Trey took the tool and rested it to the side, against the wall. Liam reached for Emily’s hand, and with his other, he turned the doorknob, revealing the mysterious room.

  A lone lightbulb with a string hung a few feet past the threshold. Liam stumbled as he stepped to it. “Be careful,” he told everyone. “There’s a small drop.” He pulled the thin string, and the room was basked in an eerie, dim light. The sight before him was unexpected. The room wasn’t an apartment as he initially believed. It was a barren room filled with boxes, dozens of them stacked to one side. It was cold and more like a cellar with cinderblock walls. Aside from the boxes stacked to the side, the room was empty.

  The concrete slab of the basement stopped a few inches past the doorway, and that was what caused Liam to trip as he entered. They were now standing on a dirt floor, the building's original foundation, with the boxes sitting on wooden pallets.

  “I thought this was an apartment,” Emily said from beside Liam.

  “So did I,” he admitted.

  “What is all of this stuff?” Lexi asked. She waved her hands around and turned in a circle, taking in all of the room.

  Trey pulled a box off of a wood pallet in the center of the room and opened it. On it sat a bouquet of dried, purple flowers that looked like they had been left recently. And a sealed white envelope.

  “Trey, can I see those flowers?” Emily asked, pointing to the bouquet. Trey handed them to her. Emily turned to Liam.

  “What is it, baby?”

  “When we were at your parent’s house, your mom said I reminded her of an Anemone.”

  “A windflower,” Liam clarified. “These are windflowers.”

  “They are. I looked them up when we got back home. I recognized them.”

  “Windflowers, particularly ones that are purple, are traditionally given to people for protection against evil spirits,” Luke announced. “I remember reading it a long time ago in some book about symbolism.”

  Liam grazed the wilted petals with his fingertips. “Before we left for that last investigation out of town, before you moved in Emily, Phil sent me a message saying he would stop by to grab something from here. I completely forgot about that. He must have left these.”

  “Do you think he knew who you two were?” Luke asked.

  “I don’t know for sure. But my gut is saying yes,” Liam answered. “Now that I think about it. The last time I talked to him on the phone, he sounded thrilled. I’d never heard him sound that happy before. He was so glad you were moving in, Emily.”

  Liam pulled the lid off of the box that the flowers had sat on and started looking through the papers inside. “Phil placed the bouquet and that envelope on this box. He wanted us to find this and open it first.” Trey and Luke joined him in looking through the box.

  Trey handed the sealed envelope to Liam. It was addressed to both him and Emily.

  “What does it say?” Emily asked.

  Liam read it out loud.

  Liam and Emily,

  If you’re reading this, then I am most likely dead. Don’t be sad. It was my time. I’ve lived long enough and held on to all of these secrets for as long as I could. It’s time the truth finally be known.

  I was given the responsibility of guarding this house and its secrets when my father died. The seer who my father met with after Banks’ death came to me as a young boy and placed a spell upon me. One that would keep me alive. I was to live for as long as it took until the two of you found each other. Until the strings of the universe that each of you holds came together and bound with one another again. The moment I met you, Liam, I knew who you were. I, like my father before me, have guarded this secret for a long time. When Emily contacted me about the apartment, I saw her picture, and I knew that Abigail was coming home.

  Everyone gasped. Emily clasped her hands to her mouth, tears welled in her eyes. Liam pulled her close, and Lexi went to her other side, comforting her friend. Liam handed the handwritten letter to Trey, and he continued.

  Liam, I’m sure in your line of work you have developed some good instincts. Trust them. They will keep you safe and continue to lead you to the truth. Emily, I never formally met you in this life, but I want you to know that Liam and his friends can and should be trusted. They won’t let any harm come to you. I’ve lived my life haunted by the dark spirit, and I assume he has been haunting you two as well in some way. He is dark, and he is evil. Trust your instincts and end him.

  My father started a journal of what he witnessed and kept documentation of everything. I’ve continued to collect and keep documents over the years in hopes that one day they would help in any way. That’s why this room has always been sealed off. These walls have held the secrets for over a century. They have confined the evil in this house to this one room.

  Read the journals, take them, and use them. End this and finally live together as you should have been able to do before. I’m only sorry that I can’t be with you to see it.

  Good Luck

  -Phillip Randall

  “Holy shit!” Luke said while running his hand over his face. “Phillip is Charles’ son! Not his great-grandson!”

  “My God,” Liam stated.

  Everyone stood stock-still. Liam looked down at Emily, her face wet from tears. “It’s okay, baby.”

  “I can’t believe this. I mean, I do believe it. It’s happening. But knowing that someone I never even had a chance to meet knew all along what happened and what would happen is…surreal.”

  Lexi walked over to the box and picked up a book from inside. “It’s a journal. It looks like it belonged to Charles.”

  Trey knelt next to her. “Sure is. There’s a lot here, Liam. It could take days to go through all of this stuff. What do you want to do?”

  Liam thought for a minute, then looked at his two best friends. “I’d like to go through all of this. But, the reality is we already have a lot of information, and Em and I can’t live like this anymore. We want to move on with our lives. We can’t do that with some asshole spirit lurking over us. Lexi, how do you feel about combing through some of this stuff while we get started?”

  “Absolutely. I’ll help in any way I can. Em, you want to help me?”

  “Yes, of course.”

  “We are ending this now.” Liam looked at his friends as he s
poke. “But we are going to need help,”

  Twenty-Six

  “I

  ’m calling Dave. If anyone can help us, it’s him.” Trey told everyone while pulling his phone out of his back pocket.

  “Who’s Dave?” Emily asked as she turned to Liam.

  “He’s a friend of ours. He’s a psychic medium. Sometimes, we call him when we have a tough case and need help communicating with spirits, especially with poltergeists. He’s helped us with a lot of cases in the past. We trust him, and he is always willing to help us.”

  “Poltergeists? That’s a real thing?” Lexi asked. But before anyone could answer, she continued, “I’m sorry. I don’t mean to sound dumb. I thought Poltergeist was only a movie.”

  “The term was popularized by the movie,” Trey answered. “But a poltergeist haunting is very much a real thing. It’s the German word for noisy ghost. It’s when a spirit is able to move objects, even people. It’s an intelligent spirit that can make loud noises by moving objects or banging on walls. That’s not a dumb question at all,” Trey stated. “Most people don’t know or understand the different types of hauntings, and that’s how misconceptions are started.”

  “Thank you.” Lexi nodded at Trey before looking back down into the open box. “Always feel free to ask us if you have a question. We’re happy to answer them.”

  “I will,” Lexi stated while tucking a lock of hair behind her ear.

  “We should keep setting up. Trey, let us know what Dave says.”

  “I will.” Trey pushed the button on his phone to call the psychic medium. Luke cleared an area where they wanted to dig. Liam carried the box they had discovered and opened, while he, Emily, and Lexi moved back upstairs to finish setting up camera equipment.

  Hours later, Emily and Lexi were reading through the documents when Emily called out to Liam. “You should take a look at this page.” She handed the open journal that Charles kept to Liam.

  Liam read the journal entry and stared at the page in disbelief. “This was written by Charles. He explains what happened to Banks and how he inherited the property.” Liam paused and strode to the front door. “Guys,” he shouted for his teammates. Moments later, Trey and Luke entered Emily’s flat.

  Liam stood in the middle of the room and read the journal entry.

  April 25, 1870

  I buried Robert today. The sickness finally took over his body. Despite the sadness of the situation, I feel nothing but relief. The sun shone brightly at the cemetery. The house has never felt as warm as it does.

  May 1, 1870

  The spirit, of whom I am sure is Robert, has been haunting the house. I feel he’s angry at my inheritance of the property. Though, he should be angry at himself since he never named another next of kin in his will. I’ve sent for a seer woman to come and help me communicate with him. Rumor is she is a powerful witch. I feel my family is in danger now. I received word today that Robert’s closest men died in a tragic accident. No one knows how. It seems they dropped dead for no reason. They were the only ones, besides myself who knew what Robert had done.

  May 3, 1870

  My wife and I were both dragged out of our beds last night by unseen hands. Little Phillip has been seeing a “Shadow Man.”

  “Oh my god,” Emily said, pressing her hands to her mouth.

  “I bet Banks was the cause of his men’s deaths,” Trey said.

  “Trying to hide his secrets, even from the grave,” Luke added.

  “There’s more,” Liam continued reading.

  May 10, 1870

  They seer visited last night. She saw everything that Banks had done. The walls of the house vibrated and rumbled as she spoke, revealing his sins. She was unable to remove him from the home. Apparently, he refused to move on and believes he can continue ruling with an iron fist from the grave. She placed a spell on him, binding him to the confines of the house.

  While she looked into her crystal ball, the future showed itself to her. Her vision showed that James and Abigail will return one day. Until that time, my family and I have been tasked with guarding this house, ensuring that the truth is revealed when the time comes.

  May 13, 1870

  I had James and Emily’s bodies moved to the cemetery today, and the room they were buried in sealed shut. The house has remained quiet since the seer visited. I only hope it stays that way. I have no intention of breaking my promise. I’ll remain here and do whatever is necessary to make sure James and Abigail can return to this place and learn the truth.”

  “That’s the end of this journal,” Liam said as he closed it and sat on Emily’s sofa. She took a seat next to him, her arm around his shoulders.

  Trey spoke, “Liam, if Charles moved the bodies, we might not be able to find them.”

  “Why’s that?” Emily asked. Her brown drawn together in question.

  “Because in the early nineteen hundreds, San Francisco passed a law, prohibiting any further burials in the city. And in 1914, it passed another law that any bodies in cemeteries within the city limits needed to be relocated. They were all moved to Colma, just south of here. That’s why there are so many cemeteries there. It was meant to be a Necropolis. Any bodies who weren’t claimed in cemeteries in San Francisco were buried in mass graves in Colma. And the old cemeteries in the city were destroyed for housing development.”

  Liam sat, holding the journal while he listened to Trey speak. “Right. So, unless Charles paid to have the bodies moved, they would have been relocated to a mass, unmarked grave. Can we try to find out?”

  “It would be nice to know if they were buried properly a third time.” Emily looked from Liam to Trey as she spoke.

  “I’ll do everything I can to try and find out where they are,” Trey assured.

  “Alright. Let’s keep going. Lexi, thanks. This information is really helpful. You have no idea. We’re not stopping now. We keep going and dig anyway. Just to be sure they aren’t still here.” Liam turned his attention to Trey. “Did you get a hold of Dave?”

  “Yep,” Trey answered. “He promised he’d be here later tonight.”

  “Perfect,” Liam said as he rose from the sofa. Trey and Luke went back to setting up equipment throughout the house.

  A few hours later, Emily and Lexi were in the kitchen making coffee while the guys were in the living room going over the plan for the night.

  Emily walked into the living room, carrying a tray. Lexi followed close behind with a tray of cream and sugar. Liam caught the movement of Lexi, jerking forward as if she were being pushed from behind. Her back arched, and her arms flew out in front of her to catch herself as she hit the floor. The tray she was carrying crashed to the floor and was knocked to the side. Emily was next to be pushed and knocked down, spilling the hot coffee everywhere.

  The guys were up and moving toward them as soon as they realized what had happened. The lights flickered, and there was a low rumbling sound coming from within the walls again. Static swirled around. The air was charged with energy.

  “What happened?” Trey asked once he reached Lexi.

  “There was a cold breeze that rushed up behind me and pushed me. Seriously, pushed me! I felt hands on my back, but I know no one was behind me. It knocked me down. Then Emily went down, and everything in here went nuts!” Lexi shouted.

  Liam held Emily tight against him. Trey doing the same with Lexi. Luke moved the dropped trays out of the way so no one would trip on them.

  Emily threw her hands up in the air and screamed. “Fuck! That was my favorite mug, you asshole! Why don’t you just leave! You’re pitiful.” She was yelling at the air, spinning around, searching for the unseen entity. Everyone’s eyes had gone wide in surprise. Liam had never seen Emily upset. Not that they had known each other for a particularly long time, but he knew this was way out of the ordinary for her. “You keep your filthy hands off my friend. Why do you keep hiding? Why don’t you show—”

  “Em, stop.” Liam grabbed hold of her shoulders. “Don’t an
tagonize him right now.”

  “I hate him, Liam. I hate him so much. I want to kill him.”

  “Baby, when did you get this?” Liam traced his finger down her arm. Three scratch marks were visible, and he watched as they turned to welts.

  Emily shook her head. “I don’t know. They weren’t there when I was in the kitchen. Did I bump my arm on something when I fell?”

  Luke came up with his phone and took a picture. “We’ve seen this before.”

  “Yeah.” Liam smoothed his hand over her arm. “Spirits will scratch to try and get a point across. Or to make themselves known. To scare us.”

  “He did this? Banks?” Emily’s eyes were furious.

  “It’s okay. Stay calm.” Liam lowered his head to look into her eyes. “He’s already dead. And we’re going to get rid of him. But I don’t want you provoking him. He’s capable of hurting you.” His eyes traveled to her arm, indicating the scratches. “We’re going to send him to the hell where he belongs. I promise.”

  Emily looked at Liam, fire still burning in them. “I’m sorry. I’m just so fucking tired of this.”

  “I know, baby. I think that’s our cue to get this show started. Don’t worry about the coffee. I’m ripping out that carpet anyway. Why don’t you go to the van with Lexi? Make sure all of the cameras are visible on the monitors. You can brew some more coffee out there. Radio me when everything looks good, and we’ll get started. I want you to calm down, and we’ll bring you in later to help. Okay?”

  Emily smoothed her hair back and inhaled. “Okay. I could use some fresh air.”

  Liam kissed her while Trey walked Lexi out to the van. Luke carried the spilled trays back to the kitchen.

  “Besides the scratch, are you sure you’re alright?” Liam asked while rubbing his hands up and down her arms. “That was quite a fall you took.” On the surface, Liam fought to remain calm. But on the inside, his blood boiled. It was one thing to knock things over and show itself from afar. This time, it touched Emily, and Liam was seething. Banks was lucky he was already dead. The amount of anger stewing within him led him to believe he was capable of committing murder.