“I promise, on scout’s honor, and you know I really was a Girl Scout, that I had nothing to do with this. I hate to tell you this, but the guy’s legit. Did he already leave?”
She sat on the floor of the foyer, her back resting against the oak door, and noted that the pounding had stopped.
“I have no idea. Now I feel like an idiot.” Her voice quivered, “I am sooo sorry I yelled at you like that.”
“Listen Ray, I have to get going. If he’s already gone, try calling the phone number again, maybe you can explain and get him to come back out. Good luck."
She stood and cracked the door open, peering out to see where Ryker Whitcombe the fourth had gone to.
CHAPTER 6
Ryker sat on the wide steps of the old Victorian house, waiting for RayeAnn to come to her senses or Bryn to come home. Usually he would have just taken off, chalking the whole experience up to the lady being a nut job or the call being a joke. But this case was certainly not a hoax. He had never been so sure of that in his entire life, not because he was so good at his job, but because he too had been haunted in his dreams for the past six weeks.
At first he’d had no idea what was happening. His dreams weren’t terrifying, just annoying. Some guy named Nathaniel kept calling to him in his dreams. Though he wore pants with suspenders and a white shirt, the tools hanging behind him looked like old blacksmith tools. All he would do was keep repeating the same word over and over, and Ryker hadn’t any idea what it meant until he had talked to RayeAnn. When she told him the name of the street she lived on was Briarwood, all the pieces clicked together like thunder. It was the same word Nathaniel repeated over and over to him in his dreams. Briarwood.
Confident that once RayeAnn was able to confirm that this wasn’t a joke she would open the door, he sat and waited. No point leaving if he was just going to have to turn around and come right back, gas was too expensive to waste. A man living off donations learned to be frugal, constantly making decisions about priority and need verses wants and desires.
Of course, looking back, he should have told her who he was over the phone. He knew the minute he heard her name that it was the woman from the bar. How many women named RayeAnn could possibly live in Crawford County and happen to have a ghost problem and live on Briarwood? Only one.
He sensed rather than heard the door behind him open slowly, just barely a crack, before swinging open widely.
“Ready to get on with the meeting?” He stood up and turned toward the door, not waiting for an answer.
“Why didn’t you tell me on the phone who you were? It would have caused a helluva lot less confusion if you had, and I wouldn’t be standing here like a fool trying to apologize.”
Amazing woman. Suddenly it was all his fault she was a fool. Can you just beat that with a stick? Obviously she wasn’t an experienced apologizer.
“I haven’t heard an apology yet, and I’m freezing out here, so lets get on with it so I can come in and get warm.”
“All right. I am. Come on in.”
Her apologizing skills definitely needed work. Chuckling to himself, he walked in and paused to look around the well appointed foyer. Immediately the quaint, old fashioned home pulled him into its massive embrace. Someone had loved and cared for this home.
He let out a low whistle. “Nice. Really, nice. How long have you lived here?”
“Only for about six weeks or so. A relative I never even knew I had left it to me. If it makes you feel any better, I gave the attorney a hard time, too. I was sure he had made a mistake, but he was able to prove he was right.”
Ryker noticed she wasn’t wrong from her point of view, the attorney had just been right. Logical.
“If you think the house is haunted, why don’t you just put it up for sale and live somewhere else?”
“Because my Aunt’s will stipulates that I can only get the money if I live in this house. If I move out the entire estate gets donated to the Catholic Church. So here I am. Besides, I love this house. Everything you see came with the house, all the perfectly maintained antiques, and they just don’t make things like this anymore. Do you want a tour first, or we can go into the library and have some coffee? Your choice.”
“Coffee first, then the tour. You say Bryn only had the one dream but that you have had several?” She crooked her finger at him to follow her into the kitchen, once there she poured them each a mug of fresh coffee. With a wave of her hand she took him back to the library so they could finish the coffee while they talked. She felt the tremor in her hands, which forced her to hold onto the mug tighter than normal, while her knuckles whitened with the effort.
“More than several. Honestly, I’ve lost count of the number. I haven’t missed a night since I moved in, sometimes even several dreams a night. Other than earlier today, I haven’t had more than two hours of sleep at a time, and then that sleep was restless and frustrating.”
“All right, let’s start at the very beginning. You mentioned something about it all starting five months ago. Start there.” Sitting in the wing back chair of the library, he pulled out a notebook and pen from the inside pocket of his brown leather jacket and poised himself to start taking notes.
The impact of his piercing blue stare hit her like a karate kick to the heart. As if she had been shoved physically, she plopped down into the chair, too overcome to speak. Why had she never noticed his eyes before? Everything about him attracted her like no one had before. At a loss for an explanation to soothe her sensibilities, she began to stammer out her story. She clutched tightly at the arms of the chair to steady herself, not sure if it was she who was spinning or the room. Everything around them faded away in a smokey blur, his eyes bright as an LED flashlight glowing in the darkness. Her breathing began to come in short bursts, causing her chest to ache from lack of oxygen. Every nerve in her body tingled, as if she’d just been plugged in to an electrical current. Perspiration beaded on her forehead and her knuckles were white from gripping the arms of the chair so tightly. When she couldn’t stand the assault to her senses any longer she stood abruptly. Instantly everything came back to normal. The room was back and Ryker’s eyes had stopped glowing. It wasn’t until she felt the little shake that she realized than Ryker had been talking to her, though she couldn’t make out the words. Confusion swamped her brain as she once again lowered her body back into her chair while something was being forced into her hand.
“Here, drink this. Can you hear me, RayeAnn? Take a sip of water now.” The sharpness of his words brought her mind back with a jump.
“Wow. What just happened here? One minute I was sitting in this chair and the next everything seemed, I can’t describe it really, sort of like ‘other worldly’.” Slowly she took a sip of water while her body shuddered in rolling waves. Trembling soon took her over again. Fear flowed through her at the thought that she had not been in control of her body or mind. What kind of power had taken her over?
“I’m scared.” She hugged herself tightly in an attempt to comfort herself.
“Everything’s going to be all right. Apparently you took a little side trip to the other realm. Has that ever happened to you before?”
“No…never. Not even in my dreams. Usually I’m standing and trying to converse with Charity, just as you and I are now. I keep asking her questions, but her only answer is her begging for help. I can feel the frustration while I try to figure out what she needs help with.”
“How was this time different from the dreams?”
“Well, I wasn’t asleep this time. Charity was here, I sensed her presence, but then suddenly everything but you faded away. Your eyes were glowing blue like two headlights. I couldn’t hear anything and I was transfixed by your eyes. Once I stood up everything went back to normal. Did I say anything?”
“Yes, but it wasn’t in your normal voice. The voice that came out of you sounded like a young girl, quite a bit higher and very sweet. There was an innocent quality to it.”
“Did I beg you to
help me?” She sensed in her gut what had happened but wasn’t ready to accept it. Bracing herself, she waited for his answer, dreading it, but at the same time needing to hear it from someone else.
“You did ask for help, except this time you added a little more. It was as if you were searching for something with your eyes, and then you called out the name ‘Nathaniel’ like a question.”
“This is just crazy. Am I so far gone that I’m losing my mind? Normal people don’t go around having their bodies taken over by spirits or call out names of people they’ve never met before. I think maybe I need a different kind of help than what you can offer.” With her head bent down, she rubbed her forehead with her fingers, as if that action would erase everything that had happened. She was sure she had lost her mind.
“RayeAnn, look at me. I know I’m exactly the kind of person to help you, possibly the only one. You are not crazy. Do you understand me? I have a Ph.D in psychology, so I’m qualified to make a diagnosis. I promise you, you are fine and will continue to be fine. Take a few deep breaths now and shake off the tears, now’s not the time to fall apart. I know you’re strong enough to deal with this, so suck it up.”
“Really, Mr. Psychology, please enlighten me then. I’m just dying to know what happened.” Angry now at his rough demeanor, she crossed her arms over her chest and began to bob her leg.
“Good. Anger. I can work with that.”
“Then let’s do that, shall we?” Taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly, Ryker began to explain to her exactly what he knew about the situation.
“Well, for starters, it’s pretty obvious that Charity took over your body. From the symptoms you described, especially the electrical stimuli, I’d say another energy form, Charity most likely, entered your body. It’s unusual, but not unheard of. There have been many documented cases of possession by spirits, both good and evil. I don’t believe Charity is evil, just confused.” He paused for a moment, trying to decide exactly how to broach the next part of the explanation without alarming her.
“Remember when I told you over the phone that I believed you one hundred percent? There was a reason. I didn’t say anything at the time because I didn’t want to influence you in any way, but now I need to lay it all out as far as I know it.”
“God, please tell me this is all a joke.”
“Sorry, I can’t lie, even to make you feel better. For the last several weeks I’ve dreamt of being a man other than myself, possibly in another life, but I’m not sure about that yet. Anyway, in my dreams I’m in a blacksmith shop in the Victorian era, I’m not sure exactly what year. Clearly though, I’m young, maybe mid twenties, and dressed in pants held up by suspenders and a kind of blousy shirt, white. I’ve been working because I’m sweating profusely and hammering on something hot, sparks are flying up every time I strike it. Suddenly I stop what I’m doing and look up. I am staring at someone, and then I hear myself say ‘Briarwood’. I just keep repeating it over and over until I wake up in a sweat and frustrated as hell.”
“So when I gave you my address it all clicked.”
“Right.”
“Great, are you trying to tell me that this is destiny?”
“No, I don’t think it’s that at all, though I have to admit it would be a lot better than my usual pick-up line.”
“Which is…”
“What’s your sign?” He looked sheepish but sincere.
“Oooh, sad. Really, really sad. I think my grandfather might have used that one on my grandmother, that’s how outdated that is.”
“What can I say, I’m an old fashioned kind of guy.” He did apologize for being a dork.
“So now what do we do about all this?” She swept her arm around in the air above her head in a huge circle.
“One good thing we’ve already learned tonight is another name, Nathaniel. You mentioned when we met before that you do a lot of research. We need to find some records that pertain to Nathaniel. I’ll leave that to you. I’m assuming you’ve already done some research on Charity?”
“Yes, but I didn’t find out very much. She was referenced in one of the Crawford County historical books, but only briefly. I haven’t been able to find anything more since then. Nothing in my dreams is familiar to me since it takes place in a field with a tree line and a stream running through it. Not really any landmarks to speak of.”
“Now that we have the name Nathaniel I would suggest looking into him. You may just get lucky and run into Charity through him. In the meantime, I’m going to gather my team and discuss the best plan of action for this situation.”
“What are the possibilities?”
“Electronic surveillance, research, psychic medium, séance. There are a ton of things we can try, so don’t give up hope. We’re just getting started.” He watched her hug herself, as if trying to comfort her body and mind. Fear showed on her furrowed brow, her body language yelling as loudly as it could without making a sound. Before thinking it through, he pulled her into his arms and hugged her tightly, rubbing her back and neck in an effort to both console and comfort her, validating her feelings as real and terrifying things. He felt her arms wrap around his waist, returning the gesture and drawing out his protective instincts. Nothing was going to happen to her. That he vowed, as he stepped away slowly.
“All right? If anything…and I mean anything new happens I want you to call me immediately. I’ve written my cell phone number on the back of my card. Day or night, it doesn’t matter. I’ll call you in a few days, and we’ll start our plan of attack. Are you going to be okay until Bryn gets home?”
“Yep. I’m feeling more hopeful than I have in a long time, and I feel better just knowing we’re taking positive steps to resolve this.”
“Okay. Goodnight. I’ll walk myself out, you need to start looking for Nathaniel.”
“Slave driver.”
“You’re a quick learner.” He winked at her over his muscular shoulder.
Walking out the door, Ryker realized that sometimes he didn’t always like what he learned. But for now he would keep that to himself. Once he was behind the wheel of his car, he allowed a long suppressed shudder to run through his body. Images of RayeAnn’s beautiful but terrified face kept flashing through his mind, heating his protective instincts to a boil. Now that he had gotten a good, long look at her he realized just how attractive she was. Beautiful refined features graced her ivory skin, and those freckles were adorable. He was overcome with the desire to kiss each and every one, wondering just how far down her chest they went. The pale gray/blue of her eyes changed color and went dark when she was frightened, and he found himself wondering what they would look like in the throes of passion. He was looking forward to finding out…hopefully sooner rather than later.
CHAPTER 7
RayeAnn felt completely drained after her ‘visit’ from Charity. It felt as if someone had unplugged her from her charger, letting all the life drain out through the cord. She lay on the couch in the library, hoping to gain enough strength to make it up to her bedroom. As she lay there thinking about everything that had gone on, one thing that struck her was how handsome Ryker was. Funny, she had never given him another thought after the beer incident at the bar. Maybe that had been a mistake. He certainly seemed to be made of sturdier stuff than he had that night. She had underestimated him, a mistake she wouldn’t make again.
One thing she had gotten right, he was tall, really, really tall. Chuckling to herself, she realized she’d fit nicely right under his armpit, just the spot a girl didn’t want to be. His jet black hair and blue eyes were a stunning contrast, no wonder his eyes glowed in her ‘dream’, for lack of a better term. They were such a bright blue that she guessed they would appear to glow even in the daylight. For a tall, muscular man, he moved with incredible grace.
Yes, he made for a pretty package. Too bad he was so gruff and bossy. Everything about him was all business. He was so serious. Too serious for her tastes. Maybe Bryn and Ryker would hit it off. Pi
cturing herself and Ryker, she giggled at the mental image. They certainly did NOT make a cute couple. Her flame red, curly hair sticking out from one of his armpits with a wide smile while he peered ominously into the camera. She wiped the air to erase the image like she was cleaning a chalkboard.
Amazed at how refreshed she felt after her little rest on the couch in the library, she changed her mind and decided to start poking around to see what she could find on Nathaniel.
When Bryn walked in from her shift RayeAnn was still at the computer, absorbed in her research.
“Hey, how’d it go?” Bryn sat down in the chair in front of the desk, propping her stocking feet on the top of the desk.
“Once I figured out it wasn’t a joke, pretty well, I guess.”
“Why, what happened?”
“Apparently we were visited by Charity, only this time I was awake. I was scared to death. It was the weirdest feeling.” She shuddered violently from head to toe before continuing. “Plus, as it turns out, he’s been having weird dreams and visits from some dude named Nathaniel. That’s what I’m looking into right now.”
“Umm, honey, did it ever occur to you that you’re just a little…gullible? I mean, come on, you’re talking like all the planets aligned in some cosmic twist of fate to bring you two together. Did you bother to check any of his references before you invited him here?”
“Apparently I’m not the ninny you think I am. Yes, and they all gave him glowing recommendations. The thought did cross my mind while he was telling me about his dreams, but here’s the kicker. In his dreams Nathaniel kept talking to him, repeating the same word over and over. Briarwood.” When Bryn attempted to speak RayeAnn held her hand up to stop her, wanting to finish the story. “Plus, I was the one who went into the trance and said the name Nathaniel, and that was before I even knew someone with that name even existed way back then.”
Seduction of Souls Page 4