“You say that all the time and then you end up canceling at the last minute.”
Claire rose and put her hand on Carol’s shoulder. “Only when I’m working. People want to buy houses on their schedule, not mine, and being the sales agent…well, a girl’s gotta eat. Especially with two teenagers to feed as well.”
“Yeah, yeah,” Carol called over her shoulder as she walked across the room to the side door.
When she left, Claire picked up the glasses and rinsed them in the sink. The thing with Lucas in the casino niggled in her gut. She was definitely going to find out more about that. A hooker? Lucas? No way.
Right?
TEN
THE NEXT MORNING A TAP ON THE BEDROOM DOOR YANKED ASHLEY FROM A SOUND SLEEP. The door opened and Aunt Claire smiled at her. “I let you girls sleep as long as I could. I’m afraid there’s just toast for breakfast till I get back from the supermarket.” She stepped into the room and looked around, sniffing the air. “You girls burned a candle? I can smell the vanilla scent.”
Leah rolled over and then sat up from her spot at the other side of the bed. “Hey Claire. What time is it?”
Claire glanced at her watch. “A little after nine. Carol is up and already starting the painting in the living room. Can you believe that?”
Ashley threw the covers back. “Wow! She’s ambitious.” She looked around the room for anything they may have missed from the night before. But she was sure Maya had taken the board to her room for safekeeping. None of them had wanted to continue with the session after the planchette had swooped to the “Goodbye.” Thinking of it still made her uneasy.
“Well, if you want to pitch in to help Carol, I’m sure she wouldn’t mind.” Claire started to leave but then paused, “I’m picking up steak for dinner. Lucas is coming out to see the place and have dinner.”
Ashley forced a smile she certainly didn’t feel. Lucas was such a phony. Why couldn’t Aunt Claire see it? She turned to Leah. “Are you sticking around for dinner? Spending another night here?” She crossed her fingers that Leah would.
Leah shook her head. “Sorry. I’ve got to babysit tonight for the Harding’s. Mom is picking me up at five.”
Aunt Claire turned when Maya joined her standing in the doorway. “Hey sunshine!” She gave Maya a kiss on the forehead before looking over at Leah. “Carol is going home this afternoon too. Maybe you could catch a ride with her and save your mom a trip.”
“Thanks. I’ll let her know.” Leah got up and grabbed her phone.
“Well, I’m off! The sooner I leave, the sooner I’ll be back to get some more stuff done.” Claire slipped away, and her footsteps sounded on the stairs.
Maya looked up at Ashley. “Did I hear right, that Lucas is coming for dinner?” She slumped into the room and sat on the bed.
“Yeah.” Ashley turned to Leah. “Need help babysitting?”
Before she could answer Maya pulled a pillow from the bed and hurled it at her sister. “No way. You’re not deserting me here with Puke Ass.”
“Shhh... I don’t think she’s left yet. You shouldn’t call him that. It might slip out when he’s here.” Ashley tossed the pillow back at her sister. “It’s just dinner. We can come upstairs right after.”
Maya’s eyes lit up as she hugged the pillow to her tummy, “Maybe we can do the Ouija board again. Aunt Claire will be busy with Puke Ass.”
Leah was just ending the call and she looked at each of them. “I wouldn’t do that without me here. I have more experience with this kind of stuff. The way the session ended last night was weird. I’m going to post it on Facebook to see if anyone else had something like that happen to them. It might mean something.”
Ashley looked at Maya. There was no way Leah’s warning was going to deter her sister from trying to contact their parents. It was obvious from the way she turned away, setting the pillow down and not even bothering to argue.
“Leah might be right, Maya. I think we should leave it alone. You contacted Mom I think and that’s enough. Let it be. Maybe we should throw it away.”
Maya’s glared at her sister. “No! We didn’t connect with Daddy. We should at least try to do that. Don’t you want to know he’s with Mom? Don’t you want to talk to him?”
Leah touched Ashley’s arm. “I can come out tomorrow if you want. Leave it till then. At least I’ll know why it shut down so quickly last night. It’s only one night to wait.”
Ashley looked at Maya, waiting for her to agree, but Maya got up and just walked out of the room. She turned to Leah. “I’ll talk to her.” She rolled her eyes and then grabbed her robe from the back of the door. “I can’t believe I’m actually going along with you on this but that question Maya asked...That was weird that the answer came up.”
Leah followed her out of the room. “It works Ashley…but Maya shouldn’t treat this lightly. From what I know, it’s not always good spirits who come through. That’s why you need me here. I can sense if it’s going bad and can shut it down.”
Ashley wasn’t sure whether what Leah said was true. It could be just Leah trying to be self-important, being all melodramatic and all. It wouldn’t be the first time she’d done something like that.
Leah was the typical middle child, with an older sister who had everything going for her—looks, wicked smart, and probably the most popular girl in their school—and then there was Preston. He’d always be the doted-on baby of the family. His speech impediment just brought more focus away from Leah’s mother. Leah had missed out on her sister’s looks and had to compete with a younger brother who was kinda challenged. So yeah, her making a big deal about the Ouija board was her chance for a spotlight…something that made her special.
Even so, Ashley had had enough of this subject. “I’ll do what I can about the stupid Ouija board.”
“It’s not stupid, Ashley!”
“Okay, whatever. Hey, how about after we help Carol with the painting, why don’t we explore the area around here? We’ll hike down the road and see who lives at the end of it. There’s got to be some hiking trails with all these woods around here.”
Leah smiled. “Yeah. We’ll see what’s around and then go for a swim. Maybe we can bicycle. I could use Claire’s bike.”
***
A few hours later outside on the driveway, Maya wiped a line of sweat from her forehead before starting off on her bike. She shot a dirty look at Ashley beside her. “I still think we should have gone swimming before we did this.”
“No one’s forcing you to come you know!” Ashley pedaled harder to catch up with Leah. Maya could be so whiny sometimes. At least Maya didn’t have asthma to contend with. Yet, you didn’t see her complaining even if she did have to take her inhaler everywhere. And after being around paint fumes she’d had to use it a few times.
“You think I’m staying back there with Aunt Claire and Carol? They’d have me painting the laundry room! Enough painting for one day for this girl.” Maya soon caught up and purposely wheeled her bike close to Ashley’s, making it look like she was going to bang into her before veering off.
Leah stopped at the end of the driveway and looked up the road. “Hey Maya! Your boyfriends are coming out to see you again!”
Ashley stopped and in the distance she could see the two guys pedaling hard. Maya stopped next to her and smiled. “Maybe they’ll go swimming with me instead of this.”
“Mayan! Wait for us!” Henry’s hair flew up off his forehead as his feet pumped the pedals fast.
Behind him, Preston’s hand rose to wave.
When the pair came to a halt next to them, Henry spoke, “Where are you going?”
Leah answered, “Exploring. We’re just going down the road to see what’s there. See if there’s any hiking trails or anything interesting.”
Maya groaned. “And they want to do that in this heat! You guys want to go swimming instead?” She smiled at Henry.
Preston moved his bike closer to her. “I...I’d like to see what’s th...there. We can swi....swim aft
er.”
Henry nodded and pushed off on his bike leading the way. “Yeah. I’ve never been past this point. Let’s see if anyone lives down there.”
Ashley looked over at Leah and her voice was low, “That settles it for Maya, doesn’t it? If Henry’s going then...” Her foot pushed against the pedal.
The land bordering the road was mostly covered with thick stands of pine and spruce trees with an occasional birch or maple breaking the dark green. After a straight stretch that took a few minutes to ride, there was a bend in the road. When Ashley rounded it, she saw a small dilapidated cottage with an old, gray car parked in the driveway. Instead of a lawn, the yard was all dug up, made into a big garden, and an old woman was bent weeding in the rows of dirt. She rose to watch them pass, shielding her eyes from the sun. A tuft of white hair stuck out from the edge of a red kerchief that covered the rest of her head.
Leah pulled up alongside her and hissed a whisper, “That’s the old gypsy woman! I didn’t know she lived out here!”
Ashley turned her head to peer at the old woman. Of course she’d seen the woman in the small town. She was one of the town’s characters. It was hard not to notice her when she shopped, always muttering in some foreign language and always wearing long skirts and mismatched sweaters no matter how hot it was. And there was that smell, a musty mothball scent trailing the old crone.
She turned back to Leah. “Oh my God. That’s our nearest neighbor! Makes me kind of glad I don’t have pets!”
Leah snickered. “You don’t believe all that do you? That she’s some kind of witch sacrificing small animals? She’s probably just demented.” She grinned. “All the same, I’m glad she’s your neighbor, not mine.”
Ashley looked back at the old woman. It looked like the old lady lifted her hand to wave but it was hard to tell with the angle of the sun shining down on her. Ashley’s shoulders fell watching the old woman. Maybe she was just eccentric, and she sure as hell didn’t have much money, not from the looks of her house. It looked like a good gust of wind would knock it over.
When she was well past, she noticed Henry and Preston stopped, laying their bikes down on the side of the road. Maya threw hers down and joined them, racing into the stand of trees. Ashley looked over at Leah. “Wonder what they found.”
She pedaled fifty feet or so and then stopped, peering at the break in the trees and a worn path.
Leah set the bike down and then walked over to it. “C’mon. Let’s check it out.”
Ashley raced over to join her, before she disappeared into the stand of trees. “Maya! Wait!” She peered at the wire fence lining the property, broken with strands of rusty metal reaching out like fingers at each side of the path. But there was no sign posted that it was private property. She followed Leah, being careful not to let the wire scrape her bare arms.
The scent of the trees and loam underneath was warm and moist in her nostrils. The air was close and thick, making it hard to breath. She grabbed her inhaler and took a deep puff, filling her lungs.
“Holy shit! Look at this!” Henry’s voice drifted back to them.
When she and Leah rounded a bend there was a clearing. A perfect circle of soft grass was dappled from the sunbeams threading through the branches of the trees ringing it. Maya and the guys were sprawled on the grass, their arms and legs spread like they were making snow angels, except this was plush green instead of a fresh mound of snow.
Leah turned to her and her eyes were filled with horror. She looked over at her brother and Maya. “Get out of there! That’s a fairy circle! You’re not supposed to go in it!”
“What?” Ashley looked around at the perfect circle about twenty feet across. There was no logical reason for it to be there, not when the growth of trees and brush was so dense surrounding it. It was weird but a fairy circle?
Maya sat up and looked over at Leah. “What are you talking about? This is neat! It’s just perfect. A perfect clearing surrounded—”
“It isn’t! Don’t you feel it? The air isn’t right. It’s too still and thick. This is a fairy circle. Why else would there be nothing but grass here? Get out of there, guys! Now!” Leah yelled, and her hands were balled fists. “Preston!”
Maya sat up and looked over at Preston. “Your sister is seriously crazy sometimes.” She’d muttered it but still in the quiet air it had echoed over for Ashley to hear.
Preston nodded while Henry jumped up. His strides were wide, almost leaping and dancing at the edge of the clearing, “Look at me! I’m Peter Pan!” He darted in and grabbed Maya’s hand. “C’mon Tinkerbell! Let’s make like the fairies!”
“Stop it, Henry!” Leah shouted, and then turned to Ashley for support.
“Le...let’s go guys. I...I don’t feel guh...good.” Preston got up and walked over to his sister.
“Maya! C’mon. Enough fooling around.” For some reason Ashley didn’t feel good about being there anymore. And watching Henry’s antics, his jeers seemed wrong.
Leah turned slightly, about to leave but before she did she yelled once more, “Fine! But this is super bad luck to do what you’re doing, Henry! And you too, Maya!” She spun on her heels, and Ashley could hear her feet thudding on the path.
Maya pulled away from Henry. “Cut it out.” She looked over at Ashley as she walked out of the clearing. “I told you we should have gone swimming.” She brushed by her sister, sprinting to catch up to Preston and Leah.
Henry muttered as he joined her at the edge, “Geez, I was just kidding around. Everyone’s acting like I farted in church or something.”
Ashley looked around at the clearing. It had sure put a damper on the afternoon with Leah getting all huffy. Still, it wasn’t a place that she’d want to visit anytime soon. It was definitely odd to say the least.
She took another hit of the inhaler as she walked along the path trying to catch up to the others. They were well ahead of her on their bikes racing despite the heat of the day. She took her time pedaling down the old road. When the old lady’s house came into view she noticed the woman walking down her laneway shouting at the others who were abreast, gliding by. It only made them bike faster to get away.
Great. It was about fifty feet away and she’d have to face the old lady, alone. What was with her, yelling like that? She steered to the far side of the road, so that she wouldn’t be near her. Trying to ignore her as she got closer, Ashley stared straight ahead. But the woman stepped onto the road raising her arm to flag Ashley down while yelling some gibberish.
Ashley’s eyes grew wider, and she almost fell from the bike before pumping her legs hard to get away. The woman yelled one last time at Ashley’s back but it was far enough behind her that she breathed a sigh of relief. What the hell was wrong with the old bat? She didn’t own the road and they were just riding by, not bothering her.
When she got around the bend, the others were waiting. Maya’s mouth fell open and she let out a nervous laugh. “We thought she had you! What the hell is up with her?”
Leah glared at her. “You think I’m crazy? That woman is totally bat shit. I wonder if this has anything to do with that fairy circle?”
Ashley snorted. “It wouldn’t surprise me. Remind me not to go to her house this Halloween.”
“Le...let’s keep guh...going. In ca...case she comes after us.” Preston hopped on his bike and started up the road. “Cuh...c’mon, Maya!”
Henry and Maya weren’t far behind him while Leah held back keeping Ashley company. She looked over at Ashley. “I’ve never seen the old bat upset like that. She was really bent out of shape seeing us ride by. I wish I knew what she was yelling.”
Ashley rolled her eyes. “I’m sure it wasn’t anything nice from the look on her face. She actually tried to stop me, coming out on the road. I almost fell off my bike!”
The end of the driveway was just up ahead, with Maya and the boys turning into it. Ashley turned to Leah. “I’ll mention this to Aunt Claire. She wouldn’t want to run into that old witch if she�
��s ever out jogging down this road.”
“Yeah, good thinking. Let’s get changed into our bathing suits. I’m melting in this heat.” Leah pushed ahead and propped the bike against the side of the house.
Fifteen minutes later they were changed with towels draped over their necks coming out the back door. Carol and Aunt Claire were taking a break lounging in lawn chairs near the shore. Maya and the guys were already swimming, not even bothering to change into bathing suits. They were a little past the dock and the air rang with their taunts to each other.
Ashley paused next to her aunt. “You know that crazy, old lady we’ve seen shopping downtown? The one who always mutters and wears a scarf on her head like some kind of gypsy?”
“I know who you mean. Mrs. Kovac, that’s her name. What about her?” Aunt Claire swatted a fly away and then peered up at her.
“She lives just down the road, around the bend.”
Leah’s finger made a circle in the air next to her temple. “She is really round the bend, if you know what I mean.”
Ashley continued, “She started yelling at us and even came out in the road after me. She’s got some serious anger issues.”
Aunt Claire’s head tipped to the side. “I knew she lived out this way, but I didn’t know she was that close. She’s Romanian. Her husband died years ago. She probably has a right to be a little unhinged from what I know. Some bad things happened to them during the war.”
This time it was Carol who spoke, “The Jews weren’t the only ones persecuted by the Nazis. Gypsies were rounded up too. I think she’s pretty harmless from what I’ve seen. But maybe you should avoid going near her place. You probably upset her as much as she did to you.”
Ashley shook her head and snorted. “You don’t have to tell me twice.” She was about to turn when a sharp yelp rang through the air.
Henry’s face contorted as he swam toward the shore. Maya and Preston looked confused but they followed him. When he got to the spot where he could stand, he pulled his leg up out of the water. A ribbon of blood coated the sole of his foot.
A Grave Conjuring Page 6