The Haunting of Cragg Hill House

by Elyse Salpeter

  He nodded and gave her that trusting smile he always did, and she would take it in her heart and remember it for the rest of her life, when all his memories of her had long disappeared.

  And with that they hopped on Ishu, and the fedelia took them to the simple dwellings where Josh would live with the bhikkhu he’d been assigned. He would earn his penance there as his memories slowly faded away.

  #

  The Empress frowned as she watched Kelsey’s mare streak across the kingdom on her way to drop off Josh with the bhikkus. She watched until they were nothing but a mere dot on the horizon, then turned to the Emperor with a frustration that was becoming the norm between them when it came to Kelsey. “That was a close call. You knew very well he’d already arrived. We can’t afford for her to see him yet.”

  The Emperor waved her concerns aside. “She didn’t. She doesn’t even know he still lives. You worry too much.”

  The Empress pursed her lips and crossed her arms. “I will never understand the games you play with this child.”

  The Emperor scoffed. “Child? This child’s soul you speak of is older than we are.”

  The Empress clucked her tongue. “You know what I mean. She is only a young girl in this lifetime. We should leave her alone to live out her life.”

  The Emperor chuckled and shook his head. “Leave her alone? My Dearest, you can leave her alone all you wish, but the universe will not. Do you not see how far she’s grown in only a year? She’s evolved more in this lifetime than in any other before. Look at the task she just completed. She confronted her father yet again, and won. She rid Earth of demons who jumped the realms, and won. We have a choice to either ignore her or help her, because this universe, one way or the other, will keep moving her along her path.” He paused. “Are you not the slightest bit concerned about the black pearls she has woven in her hair?”

  The Empress grimaced. “That is… telling.”

  “It’s more than telling, my Dearest. It means she still feels a connection to her father’s world. And, she’s strong enough now to bring items through the realms.”

  “But it is confined only to Xanadu.”

  “No, it’s not. She conjured the Phurba dagger.”

  The Empress paled. “No.”

  The Emperor nodded. “Yes, without even realizing it. She subconsciously knew she would need it to fight the Onis. The Papua New Guinean staff did not ever have that weapon in their possession. It was only when I spoke to Roselyn when she came here to Xanadu after her death, and told her what she needed to do, that they learned the secret of that weapon so they could use it on Isa in the attic.”

  “Oh, so that’s why you sent Roselyn back to Earth instead of moving her on. You were educating her,” she breathed. “You should have told me what you were doing.”

  “I do not need to burden you with everything I do, my Dearest. But now you understand. Kelsey needs our careful intervention now more than ever. She must be watched. To make sure that her father’s influence does not continue to the Earth Realm.”

  “She is definitely stronger now. She’s evolved further. How worried are you?”

  For the first time, a look of apprehension crossed his features. “She must be watched.”

  The Empress blew out a harsh breath. “Or do you mean, used? I think you also like challenging her to see how far she will go.”

  The Emperor gave a sly grin. “Well, that, too.”

  The Empress moved closer to her mate and bent to his face until their lips were just mere inches apart. She was so close she knew he could smell her exotic cologne, but he would not reach out to kiss her lips. He would never do anything to hurt her.

  “Your behavior is not becoming of an aranhat,” the Empress said.

  “I never said I was perfect, my Dearest.”

  “My Love, is there no way for us to leave her be?”

  “Your care for her is heartwarming, but no. Not when all of them are here. We must not waste any moments in time given to us. We have worked on this scenario for too many centuries not to act.” He inhaled deeply and moved his face even closer until he could feel the heat of her skin against his cheek.

  “And taking in Josh? That is part of the grand plan, too?”

  “It will keep her on task. Who says I’m not kind to her?”

  The Empress squinted. “You’re impossible.”

  Footsteps sounded in the outside hall and they quickly pulled away from each other. At that moment, a strapping eighteen-year-old entered the meeting chambers. He strode confidently towards them, then bowed on one knee. A straight sword was attached at his hip, and a bag of what the Empress knew were Flying Darts, sat in a sack at his waist. The two weapons he had mastered. “I’ve come from Prithvi, your graces. As you requested of the elders.”

  The Empress noticed how much he’d grown in just the past year since she’d seen him last. His time with the Shaolin Monk elders had done him well. They had healed the disease from his youth and sequestered him away from the influences of Mara. Hidden in Prithvi, he could learn and grow and be protected from those that would have sought him out. He could be trained as a demon hunter. A soldier who could cross the realms to fight against evil.

  Mara had lost with this one, too.

  The boy glanced up and his brilliant blue eyes brimmed with intelligence. His dark, wavy hair framed his handsome face, but it was styled long and he pushed it back from his brow. They could see the ragged scar on his temple from his encounter with the Vetala demon two years before.

  She also noticed how strongly he resembled his father, Benjamin Porter.

  “Yes, Robbie. Come forward,” the Emperor said. “How is your training going? I am told by the elders you are at the top of your class.”

  Robbie’s confidant gaze wavered for a moment and he flushed in embarrassment. “I did not know that, sire. I am not looking to be the best at anything. Just to serve the kingdom.”

  The Emperor glanced at the Empress and she nodded. An excellent fighter and humble, too. “Your fighting skills are renowned. It was because of them you were able to save your master when a Kappa demon tried to drag him into the river recently.”

  At this, Robbie puffed up.

  He’d been traveling the realms with his teacher two months before and they had rested at the side of a river when suddenly a Kappa demon rose from the water, grabbed his master and had pulled him under.

  “I did nothing more than anyone would do for their master.”

  “You wrestled with him in the water for nearly two minutes and nearly died. And yet you didn’t kill him when you had the chance. Why?”

  Robbie frowned. “There was no need to kill it, Sire. They are usually not so violent.”

  The Emperor raised his brows. “Compassion, Robbie?”

  “I brought the creature up to the surface and let the plate at the top of his head dry out. After that, he was powerless to do anything more. To kill him would have been immoral.”

  “Killing a demon. Immoral?” the Emperor mused. “And what of the Vetala demon you encountered two years ago, when you received that scar? Was that different?”

  Robbie bristled. “That was entirely different. The Vetala demon had inhabited the corpse of my Master’s master when he died. It was a sacrilege.”

  He placed his hand absently to the scar on his head. It had been a fierce battle to drive the demon from the body, but his skill at close fighting had decided the outcome. Even at sixteen, they’d known he could do great things.

  The Emperor considered him. “I have spoken to your master, and he says now that you’re of age it’s time we offer you a new test. One where your elders will not be at your side to guide you every step of the way. It involves sending you back to Earth and finding a roaming demon for us.”

  Robbie’s eyes widened in surprise. He’d not been back to the human realm of Earth for fifteen years and held hardly any memories of his life there. “You know of this demon already, Sire? Why are they allowed to roam that p
lane of existence? Why have my masters not already taken care of it? That is the job of the monks in Prithvi, to rid the realms of known demons and keep the human realms of existence safe.”

  “They have not sought this one because this demon is different. She appears human.”

  His eyes hardened. “She? Like a Vetala? A ghost demon possessing a dead body?”

  “No, Robbie. She is different than any demon you have ever encountered before. She exists on her own in this body in a true human form. And she is searching for something. We need you to find it before she does. She cannot be allowed to keep it. In her hands it could threaten the precarious balance of all the human realms.”

  Robbie considered this. “Is this female demon dangerous?”

  The Emperor glanced at the Empress, who paled. “Yes, Robbie. She is very dangerous.”

  “Then why me, sire? Why not give this job to a more seasoned fighter? I do not want to let you or the elders down with something so important.”

  He turned back to Robbie. “Because you are the one most suited for the task. We would not ask you to do this if it were not so important.”

  Robbie nodded. “As you wish.”

  The Emperor nodded. “Now, you’re going to have to be very careful. If you get too close to her, you may find yourself confused. She may seem… familiar to you. You may be drawn to her and not understand why. You must fight this feeling and not be swayed. It is one of her powers.”

  He stood tall and stared at them pointedly. “I understand.” He paused. “Am I authorized to kill her?”

  The Emperor met his eyes. “If she does not yield to you the object she finds… then yes.”

  THE END

  Want to read more from Kelsey Porter? Check out Book #5, The Search for Starlight.

  THE SEARCH FOR STARLIGHT

  Chapter 1

  Sometimes a snowfall is peaceful, with the falling flakes akin to gentle wet kisses against your cheek. Other times it’s ferocious and biting, like knives piercing your skin. A ruthless enemy with no mercy or forgiveness. Robbie wondered which snowfall this would become. He glanced at the darkening sky and knew the incoming storm could change at any moment. He leaned against the granite surface of the mausoleum and shivered against the cold surface resting against his stubbled cheek. How many times had he used rock walls for protection while demons raged around him? How many times did they shield him while the demons attacked, intent on destroying the realms they traveled to with their ill-sought desires? Stone walls had always provided shelter from the tumultuous tempests roaring about him. They were strong, cold and unmoving. At times, he felt like a stone wall himself. Emotionless. Blank. Just a soldier following the orders of his masters.

  What had his teachers impressed into his brain ever since he was a child? “You must be steadfast and unbending when it comes to demons, Robbie. A demon doesn’t care if you live or die. They don’t care if you suffer in agony. They care about nothing but their own egotistical needs. You are not to care about their paths or their lives. You are a soldier, trained to protect the realms. That is your journey and why you were saved and brought to Prithvi.” And he had followed orders. In his eighteen years he had already killed twelve demons and he wasn’t scared of anything. He knew death ultimately meant nothing. Once you died, you were reborn and you’d continue your path, lifetime after lifetime, plain and simple.

  Robbie leaned his head forward to peer around the crypt. He perused the group of black-clad mourners assembled on the snowy knoll. The crowd congregated around an open grave. The wind picked up and he brushed the snowflakes from his brows and covered his mouth, careful to hide the curly wisps of smoke from his breath. He did not want his cover blown too quickly. While he was cold, he didn’t mind it. It was easier to track demons in the dead of winter. They were so much easier to see in a bare, naked landscape.

  Like right now.

  From his vantage point, Robbie heard the mourners’ soft cries. He could see them comforting each other. The hollow, final clump of the dirt hitting the coffin as the gravediggers covered the grave. The echoes of all these sounds traversed the cemetery. Another life gone. He was used to death and it didn’t bother him. He believed dying was the only release from this lifetime, and it would give a wayward soul the chance to start over. Or pay their penance. Either way it brought a chance for redemption to every creature in the universe, good or evil.

  His talisman throbbed and he absently placed his hand to his neck. His fingers gripped the small wooden charm that held the trapped soul of a Jikininki demon, imprisoned there for the past ten years by his teacher, the Elder, Master Dov. This elder was extremely powerful in the dark arts and had caught this demon while the fiend had been feasting on the corpses of humans in a small town decimated by the Plague. Master Dov had ensnared the demon in this talisman, and now the demon would serve his penance by providing aid to the soldiers of Prithvi.

  The talisman throbbed again and Robbie knew the demon could sense another of his kind nearby. At the step-up ceremony two years before, he’d been awarded this amulet and he’d felt honored. Having this in his possession aided him in his quest by acting as a homing beacon to any other demon nearby, and it proved to him that his teacher thought him worthy of this great distinction.

  The Jikininki now began to rage within the charm. The talisman pulsed and fulminated like a sick heartbeat, and Robbie knew it was caused by the Jikininki calling out for help, summoning any other fiends nearby to join ranks with him and rid him of his confinement.

  Robbie watched the assembled mourners intently. Humans could not hear, see, or feel the monsters that lurked around them. And those assembled obviously couldn’t hear, see, or know one actually hid within their midst right now.

  But Robbie knew. He’d been training to hunt demons since he’d first come to Prithvi at the age of three. And he was good at it.

  Robbie stared pointedly at the beautiful brunette standing innocently within the throng of funeral-goers. This demon who pretended to be human. He knew otherwise. Her human name was Kelsey Porter, but she was almost certainly the temptress demon, Tanha, from the Naraka hell realm. The same Demon he’d been told to follow by the Emperor and Empress when he’d visited them in Xanadu. Well, he’d confirm it soon enough.

  The temptress demon looked much like he suspected she would. Beautiful, graceful, and alluring. Long dark hair framed Kelsey’s stunning, heart-shaped face, and her hair cascaded down the back of her long black coat. Her ridiculously high black heels, which sunk into the inch of snow collecting at her feet, amused Robbie. He found it even more absurd that she wore those heels while sporting a pair of crutches. A demon with crutches? What a brilliant way to hide inside her humanity.

  He had to give her credit for her facade, but her appearance didn’t surprise him. She should be beautiful. And sexy. And appealing. What else would you expect from a temptress demon who’d tried to seduce Siddhartha with the promise of sex? So presumptuous of her. But she’d failed then, like she would fail with her mission now.

  A man stood next to Kelsey with his arm wrapped around her waist as if he were supporting her. Obviously, some innocent she’d sucked in with her charms.

  Robbie thought back to his conversation with the Emperor in Xanadu just a few weeks back. The Emperor had warned him not to let Kelsey’s allure sway him if she tried to use it. That her irresistible magnetism was one of her powers.

  The talisman throbbed again. “Yes, I feel her, too,” Robbie murmured.

  Kelsey then glanced up and stared directly at him. Her eyes widened slightly, and that sealed her fate. Robbie knew she must have felt the trapped demon as well. Why? Because she was one of them and had heard the Jikininki’s plea for assistance. It was the only reason he had attracted her attention.

  Big blue eyes stared at Robbie and for a brief moment their gazes locked.

  Robbie stiffened. A sense of déjà vu hit him hard, and he took a moment to consider what this meant. Suddenly this demon seemed
eerily familiar. He’d been taught to always listen to his gut. To take heed of his inner feelings. That thoughts from his inner mind could save his life in a dire situation. So many times humans dismissed feelings as flights of folly, but he’d been instructed in the art on how to interpret what they meant.

  Something about this demon made him pause… was it her eyes? He let her name roll off the tip of his tongue. Kelsey. Robbie started and was taken aback for a moment. Why did I have this reaction? What does this mean? But then he brushed the feeling off quickly, realizing immediately what had happened to him. This female temptress demon, even from across the cemetery, was obviously already using her sultry glamour to sway him. To make him question himself. The Emperor had warned him about this and advised him to take great pains not to get swept away by her charms.

  He’d seen enough. He glanced at his finger with the Azurite stone nestled in its white gold setting. The deep blue color was in stark contrast to the band that held it. He paid it no more mind. He didn’t need it right now and would move away on foot. Robbie turned away from the mourners and the temptress demon named Kelsey Porter, hopped a set of gravestones, and disappeared into a thicket of trees. From there he made his way to the front of the cemetery and jumped onto his motorcycle. He knew where the girl lived.

  His instructions were to follow her as she sought a dangerous trinket. And when she found it, he would steal it from her and bring it back to the Emperor and Empress in Xanadu, like they had asked.

  And if she refused to give it up? Then he would fulfill his purpose as a soldier in Pritvhi.

  He had license to kill her.

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