TWENTY ONE
ASHLEY HAD THE KITCHEN DOOR OPEN, about to enter when her aunt stepped out.
“What’s wrong?” Aunt Claire’s worried gaze flitted from Ashley to Leah. “What were you two doing? You look like you’ve seen a—”
“Don’t say it.” Ashley took a deep breath squaring her shoulders. “We were just putting some stuff in the garbage.”
“Didn’t you do that last night?”
“Yeah. But I didn’t get it all. And I wasn’t sure I had closed the door when I left it. Don’t want a raccoon to get in there and making a mess.” Ashley could feel her face getting warm. For sure she didn’t look pale now. God, she hated this lying and sneaking around.
“There’s something more to this. But I don’t have time right now to get into it. I’ll probably be late as it is.” Aunt Claire walked past them on her way to the car. She held the car door open and her face was tight when she spoke, “We’ll talk when I get home. Leah, maybe you should stick around and spend the night. You’re in on this too, whatever it is.”
She got in her car and backed out of the driveway.
Ashley turned to Leah. “I should have told her everything. Now, I’m going to be in trouble for lying too.”
Leah sighed. “We’re goners. And so is the board. Shit.”
Ashley’s phone buzzed and she took it out of her pocket. When she saw who it was her eyes went wide. “It’s Mason. They’ll be here in an hour.” She looked over at Leah. “Shit! I haven’t even showered!”
“Go ahead. Maya and I can handle making the food. It’s just burgers.”
Ashley hightailed it into the house and up the stairs. The creepy board and the upcoming shit-storm that her aunt was going to lay on her was still there but she didn’t have to face that for a little while. She stepped into the bathroom and checked that her robe was there before peeling her clothes off.
As she turned the shower on, her gut sank thinking of that girl, Skylar. Here she was getting ready for sort of a party, and that girl was dead. And what’s more, they couldn’t put off the trip to that fairy clearing to look for her body. She said a quick prayer that they wouldn’t find anything. It would be waaay too horrible if they did.
***
When she went down the stairs, the sounds of Maya and Leah working in the kitchen was a dull backdrop to the music blaring through the house. Ashley smiled. The shower, fresh clothes and her new perfume had helped a lot in lifting her spirits. Or was it the fact that Mason would be arriving any minute?
Leah was hidden behind the open refrigerator door while Maya sprinted across the kitchen yelling, “They’re here!”
Ashley smiled when Leah moved so fast that she bumped her head on a shelf in the refrigerator before closing it. “Eager much, Leah?”
Leah smirked. “Look who’s talking! Is that a new top? I haven’t seen that one before. And look who’s even wearing lipstick.”
“Shush! They’re just outside. You’re one to criticize, Leah. I’ve never seen that green blouse on you before!” Before Leah could reply, she added, “Let’s go say hi.” Ashley walked over to the door not even caring that Leah shoved past her to get out first. They had all afternoon. Plus, she was still wondering how to bring up the subject of the Ouija board and the spooky stuff without Mason thinking they were crazy.
Mason was the first one she looked at, the muscles in his arms gleaming as he unloaded the lumber and barrels. He glanced over at her and smiled. “Hi Ashley. Great day for this!” He looked at Leah. “Do you live here? Every time I visit, you’re here.”
Leah ignored the snide comment and smiled. “Can you blame me? With the lake and—”
“Get my tool box will ya, Preston?” Mason kept piling the boards.
Ashley saw Preston hop up into the truck bed while Henry was standing chatting to Maya. She called over to him, “How’s the foot, Henry?”
“It’s better. Staying off it a day helped, I think.” He went back to talking to her sister.
Leah stepped closer to Mason. “Need a hand taking this closer to the lake?” She shielded her eyes with her hand gazing up at him.
“Yeah. Sure. I guess that makes more sense to build it there. Less distance to carry it when it’s done.” He looked over at Ashley. “So your aunt had to work today?”
She laughed and went over to help Leah with the heavy board. “Yeah. That might be a good thing for Leah and me.”
He straightened, hooking his thumbs in the back pockets of his jeans as he gazed at her. “Oh yeah? How come?”
Ashley glanced over to her sister, but Maya and Henry were walking toward the lake out of earshot. “We’re in a bit of trouble with Aunt Claire.”
He grinned. “What’d you do? Run your cell phone bill up?”
She sighed and started walking slowly with the end of the board. She was about to answer but Leah beat her to it.
“We found a Ouija board and used it.”
He looked at Ashley when he spoke, “You don’t really believe in that stuff, do you?” He fell into step beside her, carrying a barrel and leaving Leah trailing with the end of the board in her hands.
She felt her neck grow warm when she looked over at him. “I didn’t at first but now...I believe. Too many creepy things have happened for it not to be real.”
Leah wasn’t going to be shunted aside so easily. She actually gushed, “We used it to contact their parents. We made sure it was them but then this girl’s spirit came through. Skylar is her name. She told us where her body is.”
Mason stopped dead in his tracks. “Ashley. I don’t really believe in this stuff but I don’t think you should scare yourselves like this. I mean you’re out here on your own a lot with your aunt’s job.”
“Believe me, I wish I hadn’t laid eyes on that board.” She was about to say more but Leah again jumped in.
“We kept the board in Maya’s dresser but then it moved to Ashley’s room, all on its own. It totally freaked us out but that was nothing compared to what Ashley saw last night.”
He peered at her, and his hand rose to rest on her arm. “What happened last night?”
For a moment all she could focus on was the intensity of his gaze, but then her brain kicked in. “We couldn’t let Aunt Claire know about this because of Leah’s mom. She’d be in serious trouble if she knew. You know how she is with religion and church stuff.”
He glanced back at Leah. “Yeah, I guess, but go on.”
“I put the board in the trash can in the shed. Real deep in case Aunt Claire would come in and see it. When I went out last night with a bag of garbage, the board was set up on the lid of the trash can.” Just thinking of it made her chest hitch and she reached for her inhaler.
“Do you think maybe Maya went out and did that? Pranking you?”
She shook her head. “Maya saw the dead girl’s face in her bedroom window. On the second floor.”
He looked up at the house and his brow furrowed. “So she’s scared too? Doesn’t sound like she’d play a trick, feeling like that.” He looked back at her. “So where is this board now? I’ll get rid of it for you.”
Again, Leah jumped in, “That’s just it! It’s gone! We looked this morning but it wasn’t there.”
Preston had been following them, lugging the heavy toolbox. “Wuh...what? It was guh...gone? Where is ih...it now?”
Leah turned and hissed at him, “You can’t tell Maya, Preston. She was freaked out yesterday about that face in the window. She’ll really freak about this.”
“I wuh...won’t.”
Ashley blew out a sigh and looked over at Mason. “Can I ask you for a favor?”
“Building you a raft isn’t enough? You want more?” He grinned to let her know he was teasing. “Sure. What do you need? As long as it’s not a million dollars, you’ve got it.”
“Only a few hundred thousand dollars. Can you manage that?” She chuckled. It felt like forever since she’d laughed. “Actually, I need you to take me to the spot wher
e this girl said her body is located.”
“Is it in Alaska? Please tell me I don’t have to drive you there.” There was that cute glint in his smiling eyes when he looked at her.
“Hey you guys! This isn’t a joking matter, y’know!”
Ashley turned to look at her friend, wondering if the chastisement had more to do with Mason flirting with her, and leaving Leah out. “You’re right. This is actually sad.” She turned back to Mason. “It’s actually just down the road a couple of miles.”
Mason blinked a couple of times looking at her and Leah. “And you couldn’t do this on your own? Don’t get me wrong, I’ll take you but...”
Ashley swallowed hard, knowing how this probably sounded to him. And the next part was going to put her squarely into Kooksville. “There’s a crazy, old woman who lives down the road. She ran at us when we biked by.”
“Sh...she was real scuh...scary, man. A wih...witch.”
Uh oh. From the way Mason looked at Preston he was totally convinced they were crazy, if not juvenile. Especially since he was seventeen. But when he looked over at Ashley he smiled. “Look. If it will help you get past this, show you there’s nothing there but your overactive imaginations, I’ll do it.”
“Buh...but the board, man. Huh...how did it juh...just disappear?”
Mason rolled his eyes and grinned at Preston. “The crazy lady, or witch, or whatever she is, came over and took it. That has to be it if Ashley’s aunt didn’t find it first.”
They continued over to where Maya and Henry were standing at the shore. Leah turned to Mason. “If you want to go take a look, I can show you the spot where the Ouija board said her body is.”
Maya shot a look at Ashley. “We’re going to the fairy circle now? You convinced Mason to take us?”
Ashley winced knowing that fairy circle had to be the icing on the kooky-cake for Mason. “Yeah. We might as well get it over with. You don’t have to come though.”
Henry grinned at his brother. “Oh man. You’d better watch your step if you go near that circle. Leah has a conniption if you step inside it. I can’t wait to see this.”
Mason peered at Leah and she flared red to the roots of her blond hair. Her chin rose high. “It’s a sacred spot. It’s bad luck to go inside the circle. You’ll see when you get there.”
Ashley felt sorry for Leah being so centered out, especially when Mason had made a few snide remarks directed at her.
Leah sneered at Henry. “Odd, how you made fun of it and then your foot was sliced open afterward.”
Mason’s fingers threaded through his hair for a moment as he stood quietly looking at the ground. Ashley held her breath watching him deliberate. Finally he spoke, “Okay. But if we’re looking for a body or grave we all go. That way, we can cover more ground.” He glanced at Leah. “...Sacred or otherwise.”
“Thanks Mason. I know how this sounds. I hope we don’t find anything, but we’ve got to look, just in case.”
Maya added to Ashley’s words, “Mason, I saw her face in my window. I wish I hadn’t but I really did. She wasn’t old or anything, just scary. She was killed, Mason.”
He smirked. “Why do I feel like I just landed in a Nancy Drew novel? We’ll get this over with and then you guys will have to let this go. Seriously. You’re scaring yourselves over nothing.”
When Henry, Preston, and Maya were settled, sitting on their butts in the back of the truck, Mason lifted the tailgate up, slamming it shut. “Stay put and hang on. This isn’t exactly legal y’know.”
Ashley opened the passenger door and got in. For once Leah didn’t try to insert herself next to Mason. When Leah got in, Ashley turned to her. “I’ll try to keep them out of that circle. I know you think it’s important.”
But Leah sniffed and looked out the side window. Ashley’s chest fell as she looked at the back of Leah’s head. She’d try to make it up to her somehow.
When Mason got in and started the truck, Ashley looked out the windshield at the sky. A steel-gray cloud skimmed over the sun, casting a pall on the bright day.
They pulled onto the road and Ashley spoke, “You must have seen the crazy, old woman around town. She’s the one who talks to herself in a foreign language. Aunt Claire says her name is Mrs. Kovac. She’s Romanian or something.”
“That’s who’s got you freaked out?” Mason’s eyebrows rose when he looked at Ashley. “She’s odd, but pretty harmless I’d guess.”
“Not when she runs at you and almost knocks you off the bike!” When they passed the bend in the road, she pointed at the old cottage up ahead. “That’s her house.”
“Looks pretty rundown.”
The old lady was sitting in a rocker on her front porch as they passed by. She held a cat in her arms and started to rise from the chair. Ashley turned to look and saw the woman pointing at them. She couldn’t hear what she yelled but even if she had, it would probably be in that strange language anyway.
Leah turned to Mason. “It’s just up ahead on the left. You can see a path where the fence is broken.”
“Okay. I see it.” Mason flipped his signal on and pulled off the road, parking the truck. “This is it, right?”
Ashley closed her eyes and nodded. “Yeah.” She took a deep breath. “This is it.”
TWENTY TWO
LEAH LED THE WAY following the path through the forest. Ashley walked more slowly, scanning the underbrush on each side for any sign that someone had been through there. But everything looked lush and undisturbed, without a broken branch or even a crushed leaf.
“We’re here.” Leah came to a halt at the edge of the clearing.
Ashley looked over at the dark green grass blowing slightly in the breeze that now felt cool on her skin. The others crowded around looking at the strange circle surrounded by thick trees.
Mason spoke in a hushed voice, “It is kind of weird.” He waved his hands before him. “The air…it just feels strange, man…almost like water or something.” He scanned the grass before them, his head turning from side to side. “And… I think that’s a perfect circle, you know that?”
“Told ya,” said Leah.
“Okay, it’s weird; I’ll grant you that.” Mason’s arm reached out, taking in the circle before them. “But it hasn’t been disturbed. If we’re going to find anything it won’t be in there.”
Leah looked at each of them in turn. “Let’s treat this circle like it’s a clock with that birch over there being twelve. I’ll take the twelve to two section to search, widening back to cover fifty feet or so. Preston, you take the two to four section and Maya the four to six.” She started winding her way through the trees on the edge of the circle. Waving her hand behind her, she said, “The rest of you can figure out what you want to cover.”
Maya looked over at Ashley. There was no need for words. They both knew Leah was pissed off.
Mason watched her leave and then he spoke, “Sounds like a good plan.” He turned to Henry. “You take six to eight. I’ll cover eight to ten and then Ashley you take ten to midnight.” He looked up at the sky. “We’d better hurry though. It looks like it may pour any minute.”
Ashley followed Leah and looking at the clearing she made an assessment of where to start. The underbrush scratched her bare legs as she swung her feet out stepping along, inspecting the ground for any sign of the dead girl. Even a scrap of cloth. God. She hoped she or Maya wouldn’t be the ones to find anything horrible, like a bone or skull.
She swatted a mosquito that landed on her forearm and then waved her hands clearing the swarm. She could see Leah’s red shirt through the thicket of trees about twenty feet away.
“I’m getting eaten alive, man!” Henry shouted.
“Quit complaining!” Maya countered from her spot across the way.
Ashley double backed sweeping the area a few feet out from where she’d started. The first raindrop fell on her neck and rolled down her spine. She looked up but the canopy of branches and leaves hid most of the sky. She moved q
uicker, searching more with her eyes and protecting her bare legs.
Another cold raindrop was followed by more and more. She shivered and held her upper arms in her hands, rubbing them.
“It’s raining!”
“No shit, Sherlock!”
She sighed hearing Maya and Henry’s banter. That was before the sky opened up and sent them scurrying out of the forest toward the path. A clap of thunder felt like a tremor going through Ashley’s bones.
“Hurry!” Mason stood on the path with water dripping from his outstretched fingers.
She raced by him, feeling the sodden ground squish with every step. She could hear Leah right behind her while Maya, Preston, and Henry were a blur ahead, sprinting through the downpour.
When they got to the truck Henry was climbing onto the back, cursing that they had to ride in the open. This time it was Preston who answered him, “Shut up. Quit com...complaining.”
Ashley yanked the door open and clambered inside, pushing over to make room for Leah. “Holy cow! That came up fast.”
A streak of lightening cut through the bank of clouds, flashing as it arced to the earth. Ashley counted the seconds. She only got to two before the clap of thunder shook the truck. “It’s right over us.”
Mason got in after securing the truck’s back gate. He was soaking wet, the water dripping off his hair that was plastered to his head. “Where the hell did that come from so fast?” He looked over at Leah and smiled. “And no hocus-pocus out of you, Leah, about that fairy circle.”
Leah pushed a wet strand of hair from her cheek and sniffed. “Just a storm. We were due for one anyway.” She pinched the edges of her green blouse and fluttered it, shaking water off. “I’m drenched!”
Ashley stared at her for a second. There was something strange about Leah’s top, but she couldn’t put her finger on it. Before she could say or think anything else, the truck lurched as Mason cut the wheel.
Mason managed to turn the truck around even though the downpour was milky, making it hard to see the sides of the road. He drove slowly and glanced in the rearview mirror. “Those poor kids. They look like drowned rats.”
A Grave Conjuring Page 12