“Well, if we’re lucky, you might just get to see Molly today. She has a way of appearing when we start talking about her, and we see her a lot around the graves; it’s like she’s protecting them,” David said.
Michelle nodded, then got to her feet. “I’m ready if you two are,” she said, but David noticed that her hands were shaking a little bit and wondered if she was scared.
But then she smiled at him and said, “Thank you for last night,” and he forgot about everything else but the kiss they’d shared.
***Michelle***
Michelle was very aware of David’s eyes on her as they climbed, and it sent a thrill through her. But she knew that she should be concentrating on what was to come; there was at least one spirit on Swensen’s Mountain, maybe more, and she had to protect herself.
Her grandmother had taught her how to protect herself, how to block the spirits when they came to her. But today she wanted to communicate with Molly, which meant that she’d have to open herself to the spirit realm, allow the spirits to communicate with her.
It would have been better if she wasn’t distracted by David, but once Sophie had invited him, she couldn’t uninvite him. She was also exhausted, her lack of sleep making it hard to climb the steep path up the mountain, and it was becoming clear that she should have taken a nap.
She’d just have to be very careful, only open herself up a little, and she’d come prepared, knew the right spells to control the spirits if she had to. Plus, the protection amulet her grandmother had given her was warm around her neck, reminding her that she had the magic to control the spirits if she chose to use it.
When they came over the top of the ridge and she saw the farm, it was like stepping back in time. The farm took up the entire top of the mountain, the cabin and barn made from rough-hewn logs, the mountains a blue and green backdrop.
The cleared fields sported a blanket of green as the new crops poked their heads out of the dark soil, leaving the air perfumed with the smell of earth and new growth. She stopped when they stepped out of the trees and took a deep breath of the crisp spring air.
“Jessie built the main house and the barn himself; the cabin over on the far side of the field is Danny and Kara’s, and you’ll meet them at dinner tonight,” Sophie said, then led the way across the field to the far side of the field.
Michelle had been so busy looking at the view of the mountains that she hadn’t noticed the man busy planting seeds. When they got close, he stood up and smiled. “That was a long breakfast,” he said, then stuck his hand out. “I’m Jessie Rayburn; welcome to Swensen’s Mountain and thank you for coming to help us.”
Michelle was immediately charmed. “Of course, but I’m afraid you’re helping me as much as I’m helping you,” she said.
Jessie smiled at her, and she could see why Sophie had fallen so hard for him, then realized that she was basing her opinion of him mostly on his looks. “Well, then I guess we’re helping each other. Do you want to see the graves? I’m afraid they’re not exactly like they were. I added some headstones after I found the journal.”
Michelle looked at Jessie, seeing a man who both attractive and caring, no longer feeling bad for judging him on his looks. “That was nice of you; most people wouldn’t have wanted to draw attention to burials on their land; some even move them.”
“I would never take Molly and her family away from their land,” he said, “and it is a part of the history of this place, part of what makes it special.”
Michelle followed Jessie into the forest thinking that this wasn’t the worst final resting place someone could hope for. When they came to the little clearing where the graves were, she saw that it was well maintained and that there was even a little bench to sit on.
“Oh, this is lovely,” she said, sitting down on the bench.
She closed her eyes and eased her powers up just a little; feeling the underworld stirring beneath her, she quickly shut them down. “Could I have a little time alone?” she asked, not wanting an audience when she tried to contact Molly.
It was quickly becoming clear to her that these people wouldn’t blink an eye if she told them that she was a witch, but she wasn’t quite ready to let that information become public knowledge.
Right now, she wanted to be treated like the scholar she was; she’d done her research on Molly, knew what her life had been like. If she chose to use a little magic to help her contact her, that was her business.
Jessie and Sophie nodded and walked away, but David stayed where he was. “Are you sure that’s a good idea?” he asked.
“I’m just going to sit here and see if Molly will appear for me,” she said, knowing she was lying but unable to avoid it.
“Something doesn’t feel right up here today,” he said, looking around. “Are you sure Bryce won’t come back?”
Michelle was touched by his concern. “I’m sure he’s back in Nashville licking his wounds; if he comes back, it won’t be for a little while.”
“I still don’t like the idea of leaving you out here on your own,” he said.
Michelle got up from the bench and walked over to him. “I’ll be fine, but if it makes you feel any better, if something scares me, I’ll scream,” she said, then stood up on her tip-toes and kissed him on the cheek.
“Hmmp, I won’t be far away,” he said, then followed Jessie and Sophie down the trail.
Michelle went back over and sat down on the bench and closed her eyes; she thought about Molly for a long time. Then she opened them and went over to her grave and knelt on it. “Molly, my name is Michelle, and I’d like to talk to you,” she said, knowing that she didn’t have to speak out loud, but feeling like her chances of calling Molly to her were better.
It wasn’t long before the air in front of her began to shimmer, and a figure began to appear in front of her. “Hi, Molly. I read your diary, and I think I understand what’s keeping you trapped here,” she said, as the figure became clearer.
She was suddenly filled with an intense feeling of sadness, quickly followed by a pain in her stomach that nearly doubled her over. As the pain subsided, she said, “I know, Molly, the pastor poisoned you with the food he brought you, killed your entire family because of his ignorance and fear.”
Molly nodded and came closer to Michelle. “Molly, I’d like to free you, tell your story so that you can finally rest,” she said, getting to her feet.
But then she began to sense something else, something that felt evil to her. Molly turned and walked past the graves to a smaller clearing, her shoulders shaking as if she was crying. When she turned and faced Michelle, there were tears streaming down her face.
She lifted her arm and the leaves beneath it began to stir, and for the first time in her life, Michelle wondered if she’d read a spirit wrong. The leaves began to swirl as if a strong wind was blowing them, and the feeling of evil grew even stronger, then to Michelle’s horror, the ground opened, and a black hole appeared under Molly’s arm.
Michelle felt the pull of the darkness, felt the evil seeping out of it, and tried to shut it down. But she wasn’t strong enough, and she began to feel the swirling black mass pulling at her. The pull was weak enough that it was easy to fight, even though the anger and fear she was feeling were sapping her strength.
“Molly, why are you doing this?” she shouted at the shimmering figure.
Then suddenly the black hole was gone and she was standing at the graves again, but there were no headstones, and the graves were still fresh. Looking around her, she saw that there was a man standing exactly where Molly had just been standing.
His clothes were dirty, his shirt torn, and she could see a place on his face where he’d scratched himself and was bleeding. She shrank back, afraid that he would see her, but then she realized that he was unaware of her, that to him, she wasn’t there.
She watched as he raised his hands in the air, lifted his face to the sky, and began to chant words she couldn’t understand. He had a Bible clutched i
n one hand, and a cross in the other; when he threw them to the ground, they burst into flames.
Then the leaves began to swirl just as they had with Molly. At first, it was just a small whirlwind, but then it began to grow, began to come to life before her eyes. When the seething black hole appeared in the ground, a wave of evil so powerful she could taste it hit her, and it was all she could do not to fall to her knees.
The pastor laughed wildly, then jumped into the blackness, his screams of madness echoing through her, piercing her brain until it felt like it was on fire, bringing her to her the ground. As the world began to go dark around her, she gathered the last of her strength and screamed David’s name.
Chapter Thirteen
***David***
David was pacing nervously back and forth under the trees not far from the gravesite, his senses on high alert and not liking what he was feeling. There was something in the air that he couldn’t quite name, and whatever it was, he knew that it wasn’t good.
It felt like Michelle had been up there alone for a long time, but he knew that it had only been a few minutes. But he also knew that it was going to be nearly impossible not to go back up there to her if his sense of doom didn’t go away soon.
Jessie and Sophie had gone back to the field to work, but he’d stayed behind, sure that Michelle was walking into something dangerous. But as he paced, he began to wonder if his protective instincts were just working overtime because of the kiss last night. It had also been a while since he’d shifted, and that always made him restless.
He turned, planning to back to help Jessie and Sophie when suddenly he was flooded with a sense of doom so strong it took his breath away. Then a piercing scream ripped through the forest, scaring the birds who took to the sky, crying out their distress.
Only seconds later, Michelle screamed his name, and then everything went totally silent. He took the trail in bounding leaps, covering the ground as fast as if he’d shifted, his only thoughts of Michelle. When he came over the rise and into the clearing, she was lying on the ground on top of Molly’s grave.
He rushed over to her, sank down and pulled her onto his lap, not sure she was even breathing. Leaning over, he put his ear to her mouth relieved when he heard the even puffs of breath coming out of her. But her eyes were still closed, and even when he called her name, she didn’t wake up.
When Sophie and Jessie got to the gravesite and saw them, Sophie rushed over and fell to her knees beside them. “What’s wrong with her?” she asked, giving Michelle a quick visual once over.
“She won’t wake up,” David said. “I’m afraid to shake her, but she doesn’t seem to hear my voice.”
“No, don’t shake her,” Sophie said, then began running her hands over Michelle. “I don’t think anything is broken; she might have fallen and hit her head.”
“Then we need to get her to a doctor,” David said, getting to his feet with Michelle cradled in his arms.
Just then, she began to stir. “I don’t need a doctor, I just need to sleep,” she mumbled.
“Take her to the barn; it’s closer, and it’ll be quieter there,” Sophie ordered.
“But don’t you think we should take her to the doctor?” David argued, but started down the path when Sophie pointed at it again.
“If we can’t wake her fully when we get her to the barn, then we’ll get her to the doctor,” Sophie said.
David carried Michelle back through the field and into the barn, taking the stairs to the second floor two at a time. He set her gently on the bed, then knelt next to the bed and took her hand in his. It was limp, and for a moment he was afraid that she’d died, but then her eyes fluttered open.
“There’s something terrible in those woods, and I think Molly is part of it,” she said, then her eyes closed again and she fell back asleep.
Sophie gasped. “But that doesn’t make any sense. Molly’s never tried to harm us; she helped us twice,” she said. “You read her journal, you know that she was a good person.”
Jessie patted his wife on the back. “She said she thinks; let’s let her rest and see what she says then,” he said, pulling Sophie out of the room.
David looked at Michelle lying there on the bed; she was so beautiful but looked so fragile, he thought as a surge of protectiveness erupted deep inside him. He was never going to let her out of his sight again, he promised himself as he watched her sleep.
It was his job to protect her, and he’d failed; what was worse, he’d known that something was wrong. He should have followed his instincts; they’d never failed him before, and they hadn’t this time: he just hadn’t listened.
It was several hours before Michelle opened her eyes again and looked at him groggily. “What happened?” she asked, her face full of confusion.
***Michelle***
Michelle looked around the room trying to figure out where she was, relieved that David was sitting right next to the bed. “Where am I?” she asked, trying to sit up.
David gently pushed her back down. “Don’t try to sit up yet,” he said. “You’re in the upstairs apartment in the barn at Jessie and Sophie’s farm.”
“What happened to me?” she asked, trying to remember.
“Well, we’re not sure; you were sitting at Molly’s grave when I left you. We think that you might have hit your head,” he said, “but I couldn’t find any evidence of that.”
Michelle closed her eyes and tried to remember, but at first, all that came to her was a mild feeling of unease. “How did I get here,” she asked, hoping that might spark her memory.
“I carried you here from the gravesite,” David said, smoothing the hair off her face. “You woke up just long enough to tell us that you didn’t need a doctor.”
Michelle couldn’t help but smile; she hated doctors, had ever since one had detected the fact that she was a witch. “I hate doctors,” she said.
“Well, I’m still not sure that you shouldn’t see one, especially if you can’t remember what happened; that’s a sign of a head injury,” David said, his face full of concern.
Michelle shook her head. “My head doesn’t hurt, so I don’t think that’s it,” she said, closing her eyes again. “I’m just tired, that’s all.”
David sighed. “I wish you’d let me call a doctor,” he said, then took her hand, “but if you say you’re just tired, then I’ll let you sleep.”
But Michelle discovered that as tired as she was, she couldn’t fall back to sleep; something kept tugging at her. She couldn’t shake the feeling that there was something very important that she needed to tell Jessie and Sophie but couldn’t remember what it was.
Then the memories came flooding back, and she gasped. “Oh my God, Molly,” she said and sat up in bed. “I need to talk to Sophie and Jessie right away.”
She tried to throw the covers off, but David stopped her. “Hey you can’t just jump out of bed and go running around. If you need to talk to them, I’ll go get them.”
“That won’t be necessary; we’re right here,” Sophie said, walking through the door with a tray in her hands.
Michelle laid back in bed, relieved to see them come through the door. “I have to tell you about Molly and the pastor,” Michelle said, a little breathless.
“Not until you’ve had something to eat,” Jessie said, setting a basket on the table by the door.
“But you don’t understand,” Michelle argued.
“Food first and then we’ll talk,” Sophie said. “I brought you some soup and homemade bread. Once you’ve eaten, we’ll talk.”
Michelle was too tired to fight Sophie, so she let David help her sit up and ate every bite that Sophie gave her. When she was finished, she did feel better, and her head wasn’t quite as fuzzy.
“That’s better; how do you feel now?” Sophie asked.
“Much better, thank you,” she said, then asked, “Can we talk now? It really can’t wait.”
Sophie acted like she was preparing herself for bad news, then said,
“You said that there was something evil on the mountain and that Molly was part of it.”
“I’m sorry, I don’t remember saying that, but it’s kind of true,” she said, then took a deep breath, the memory of what she’d seen making her shiver. “I saw Molly, but there’s something more up there, a doorway of sorts.”
No one spoke for a minute, then Jessie asked, “What kind of doorway? I’m not sure I understand.”
Michelle took a deep breath, wondering if they’d believe her. “A doorway to the underworld, a place where spirits can come and go freely.”
There was a long silence in the room, and all eyes were on Michelle. “Molly has been guarding it all these years,” she said. “That’s why she’s still here: not out of guilt or any pact with the devil.”
Sophie finally spoke up. “How did it get there? Has it always been there?”
Michelle shivered again as the fear came rushing back. “It was the pastor. He created it. Molly showed me. He looked like he was crazy... he was chanting and...” her words trailed off, the memory too much.
When her body began to shake, David said, “I think that’s enough for now.”
Michelle tried to sit up in bed again. “No, David, it’s not. We have to close that doorway, and fast; anything could come through it.”
He pushed her back into the bed. “I don’t think there’s any rush; it’s been there for more than a hundred years, and Molly’s done okay. Another day isn’t going to hurt,” he said, and Michelle wondered if he believed her.
Sophie got to her feet. “David’s right; get some sleep, Michelle. We’ll talk more about this in the morning.”
Michelle had to try once more. “You don’t understand, the things that could come through there are bad, worse than anything you could ever imagine,” she said.
“Do you know how to close it?” Jessie asked.
That made her stop and think. “I tried when Molly first showed it to me, but I wasn’t strong enough, or I didn’t use the right spell,” she said, not realizing what she’d just said.
Young Love (Wolves 0f Gypsum Creek Book 3) Page 8