“Hear it, hell, I see the damned dragon,” said Ben.
Come with me, Holly.
Holly stared at the dragon, mesmerized.
“The Brimstone Beast.” Steve got to his feet.
Join me.
It was strong, so strong. Holly stared into the dragon’s eyes, watching the flames flicker within.
“The Serpent.” Abner stared.
“My grandfather,” Delilah breathed.
We will fly in the midnight sky.
“We will fly-” Holly whispered.
Then Adeline’s voice cut through the Beast’s cajoling rumble. “Holly, don’t listen to him! Don’t let him in! Focus! No fear. You’re in control, not him. Do not listen!”
Focus! Focus! Gathering her intent, Holly finally shook herself free. “Get out of my head!” she yelled, concentrating until the Beast dissolved back into an amorphous mass and she could once again see the darkness between the pores on Pearl Abbott’s face. “You can’t touch me!” Holly cried. “You can’t move! You can’t do anything!”
Addie was beside her now. “That’s right. Don’t let them get free. The bones are destroyed, but the spirits are still strong.”
“Burn the bones!” Delilah called from the stairs. “Carrie says to burn the bones!”
“Yes,” Addie said, “but first, Holly and I must trap them here, so even their spirits can’t escape the flames.”
She bent and looked into Holly’s eyes, showing her that her own golden spot glinted and pulsed. “I don’t have your power, sweetheart, but I’ll help all I can.” She glanced at the men, who stood together as if waiting to do battle. “Get the gas cans ready now. Who has the matches?”
“I do,” Abner said.
“Soak the bones while Holly and I deal with the spirits. As soon as we’re on the stairs, light the book of matches and throw it. And be quick about it.” She nodded toward Henry Hank and Pinching Pearl, who continued to hover a dozen feet away. Addie laid her hand on Holly’s shoulder. “You’re doing great, Holly. Keep them pinned. Tell them they can’t move, mean it with every fiber of your soul, and they won’t be able to. Keep thinking it, or say it, anything you want. Just do it.”
From the corner of her eye, Holly saw Addie turn toward the spirits of Henry Hank’s victims, still watching along the far wall. “Go!” cried the old woman. “They can’t hurt you anymore!”
The smell of gasoline filled the air as the men doused the bones. A beat passed, two, then with a rush of cool breezes, the spirits began to move. Some gathered closer, others disappeared, and from halfway up the steps, Holly heard Delilah gasp. “I feel them. They’re leaving.”
Suddenly, Pearl Abbott roared, her face enraged as she rushed forward and knocked straight into Addie, who cried out as the spirit began raising fresh welts.
“No! Stop it!” ordered Holly. “Leave her alone!”
And then Henry Hank was on Holly, suffocating her, wrapping her in icy slime, trying so hard to invade her brain that it hurt. Dimly, she heard Addie yell, “Take control! No fear!” Focusing all her power, all her anger, Holly forced Henry Hank out of her mind and off her body. The cold dark mass jerked away from her with shocking suddenness, thinning slightly, as if stunned, then regathering itself only a foot in front of her.
“You can’t have me!” Holly’s voice was as cold as death. Her vision sparked to perfect focus and new confidence filled her. “You can’t have me or anyone else!” She glanced to the side; Pearl had stopped her attack on Adeline. “You’re done, both of you. I won’t let you hurt anyone, and you can’t have me, either!”
The remaining spirits came closer.
She felt Addie’s hand on her arm as the woman murmured, “Start backing up, but keep your eyes on them, Holly. Don’t look away. You men, get ready to move.”
Holly let Adeline guide her backward as she kept her unwavering gaze and thoughts fixed on the spirits of Henry Hank Barrow and Pinching Pearl Abbott.
At last they reached the bottom steps.
Now Ike and Ben joined them. “Go up,” Addie told the men. “We’ll be right along.”
“Addie,” said Holly. “Follow Ike and Ben. I can do this.”
“No-”
“Yes!” She turned a tiny part of her mind toward Addie. “You can’t run as fast as I can.” Holly raised her voice now, pushing her will on them all. “Ben, Ike, Addie, Gram, get upstairs. All of you. Get out of the way. Go outside and wait for us. Go now!”
Silently, they obeyed. Steve, Eddie, and Abner stared at her. Eddie grinned nervously.
“Okay,” Holly said as she took one backward step, then two, and three up the stairs.
“Steve and Eddie, come up here!” They obeyed.
As Holly mounted the fifth step, Henry Hank and Pearl glided forward. “Stop!” she commanded, pushing with all her might. “Stay where you are!”
They hesitated and the angry spirits of their victims loomed closer.
“Now!” Holly said quietly.
Abner struck a match, lit the book until it was all flame, and threw it at the trail of fuel that led to the bones two dozen feet away. “Run!” he yelled as he made the stairs.
And they did.
As they charged into the kitchen, they heard the first explosion. They ran faster, all four of them, across the blue living room. The floor began to shake, and the walls to crumble. Glass shattered. Timbers cracked.
“Earthquake!” Steve yelled. Scooping up Holly like a football, he bolted outside, throwing himself over the porch steps to the trembling ground, keeping her wrapped in his arms until they hit the earth. Instantly, Abner and Eddie landed beside them. All scrambled to their feet as the world shook. They ran to the edge of the clearing where Delilah, Addie, Ike, and Ben waited.
They stood together in the downpour, swaying with the ground, and watched the skeletal remains of the final tree topple as the earth shook it loose. A moment passed and they saw the flames kiss the first floor of the house, then the second, expanding until it was lit like a Christmas tree, bright and gay.
Holly covered her ears against the screams and roars coming from the house as the victims of Henry Hank and Pearl Abbott took their own revenge.
Finally, the sounds began to fade. Addie cried, “We got them!”
The fire cackled and spat as the screams died to low moans and mixed with the groans of the burning timbers.
Then there was silence but for the licking flames.
“They’re nothing but dust now,” Addie said. “They’re gone.”
“Delilah put her arm around Holly, “You did it.”
Holly smiled.
“Carrie was there,” Delilah said. “She helped.”
“She did,” said Holly. “I’m glad.”
“I even saw her for an instant,” Delilah said. “I thought it was my imagination, at first, but when I heard her, I knew it wasn’t.”
“She reminded us to burn the bones.” Adeline smiled. “Carrie always kept a level head.”
“Yes, but she said more than that.”
“What else did she say, Gram?”
“That she loved me.” Delilah wiped away a tear. “I can’t believe it was real.”
“It was,” Addie assured her. “Carrie can rest easy now. So can the others. They’re free.”
“And Henry Hank and Pearl Abbott are on their way to Hell.” Delilah looked at Holly. “Along with others who deserve it.”
Holly stood on tiptoe and kissed her cheek.
They stood in the pouring rain watching the old house burn. It took a long time, but it slowly fell in on itself and darkened, at last extinguished by the rain.
For a while, they stood in silence.
“What will happen now?” Holly asked.
“When the town’s powers-that-be discover the house has burned,” Steve said, “they’ll just assume kids did it.”
Abner smiled. “Or blame the lightning.”
Steve nodded. “Even better.”
“
No one will ever uncover the cellar again,” Abner added. “The portal is closed now. May it stay so forever.” He looked at Holly. “Thank you, young lady.”
The others echoed his words.
Holly knew she was blushing.
“Well,” Delilah said at last. “The rain’s letting up. Let’s go back to the hotel, have some hot cocoa, and relax. In the morning, I’d like to come back and salt the earth.”
“We’ll all come,” said Holly.
Epilogue
Present Day
“After that night, I still saw the occasional ghost in the Brimstone Grand, though Henry Hank Barrow and Pearl Abbott never troubled any of us again.
“But my great-great-grandfather and his partner-in-crime weren’t the only ones to disappear. I never saw my mother again either, but every Christmas for a dozen years, she sent me a crisp one-hundred-dollar bill. There was never a note or a return address, but she always left a kiss in her trademark cherry-red lipstick right beside the image of Benjamin Franklin. Many years later, I hired a detective to find out what happened to her. Surprisingly, she’d remained happily married until her death in 1981. I was - and am - happy for her, though I must admit that, initially, my happiness was purely selfish. I got to stay with Gram and Fluffy; I got my wish.”
The fluffy marmalade cat sleeping in the sunlight beside the keyboard stretched, touching her hand with his paw. She smiled and continued typing.
“Did I feel like an abandoned child? Hardly. Cherry was right; Gram was the mother I needed, and I like to believe she needed me as well. We had many years together, and she saw to it that I was educated and well-traveled; and most of all, she encouraged me to write. We soon fell into a habit that lasted long after I was published. Each afternoon, I read to her from whatever I was writing. It never mattered if it was about jungle explorers, a Martian invasion, or ghosts rattling chains, Gram’s encouragement never wavered and she helped me become what I am today.”
“Grandma?”
Holly turned from the computer screen and smiled at the little golden-haired girl standing in her office doorway. “Come in, sweetheart.”
The six-year-old grinned and ran to her for a hug. Finally, she let go and looked at the screenful of words. “Did you finish your book, Grandma?”
“I did, just this minute. And do you know what that means?”
“What?”
“We have to celebrate! How would you like to go down to the village and have a root beer float with me?”
“Grandma! Can we?”
Holly looked into the little girl’s face, smiling at the golden motes that danced in her blue eyes. “Yes, we can. Did you know, my grandmother took me to town for my very first root beer float a long, long time ago?”
“Were you celebrating something?”
“We were.” Holly smiled.
“What were you celebrating?”
“That’s a long story.” Holly tapped the computer screen. “In fact, I just wrote all about it.”
“Will you read it to me, Grandma?”
Rising, Holly took her granddaughter’s hand and led her from the office. She shut off the light. “Someday, you can read it for yourself.” She picked up her purse. “For now, I’ll tell you just a little while we have our floats.”
About the Author
Tamara Thorne's first novel was published in 1991, and since then she has written many more, including international bestsellers Haunted, Bad Things, Moonfall, Eternity and The Sorority. A lifelong lover of ghost stories, she is currently working on several collaborations with Alistair Cross as well as a new solo novel. Learn more about her at: http://tamarathorne.com
In collaboration, Thorne and Cross are currently writing several novels, including the next volume of their popular gothic series, The Ravencrest Saga. Their first novel, The Cliffhouse Haunting, was an immediate bestseller. Together, they also host the horror-themed radio show Thorne & Cross: Haunted Nights LIVE! which has featured such guests as Anne Rice, Laurell K. Hamilton, Chelsea Quinn Yarbro, Charlaine Harris, V.C. Andrews, Ridley Pearson, and Preston & Child.
For book deals, updates, specials, exclusives, and upcoming guests on Thorne & Cross: Haunted Nights LIVE!, join our newsletter: http://eepurl.com/ckaBrr
Books by Tamara Thorne
Candle Bay
Shrouded in fog on a hillside high above an isolated California coastal town, The Candle Bay Hotel and Spa has been restored to its former glory after decades of neglect. Thanks to its new owners, the Darlings, the opulent inn is once again filled with prosperous guests. But its seemingly all-American hosts hide a chilling, age-old family secret.
Lured to the picturesque spot, assistant concierge Amanda Pearce is mesmerized by her surroundings--and her seductive new boss, Stephen Darling. But her employers' eccentric ways and suspicious blood splatters in the hotel fill her with trepidation. Little does Amanda know that not only are the Darlings vampires, but that a murderous vampire vendetta is about to begin--and she will be caught in the middle. For as the feud unfolds and her feelings for Stephen deepen, Amanda must face the greatest decision of her life: to die, or join the forever undead.
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Eternity
Welcome to Eternity
A little bit of Hell on Earth ...
When Zach Tully leaves Los Angeles to take over as sheriff of Eternity, a tiny mountain town in northern California, he's expecting to find peace and quiet in his own private Mayberry. But he's in for a surprise. Curmudgeonly Mayor Abbott is a ringer for long-missing writer Ambrose Bierce. There are two Elvises in town, a shirtless Jim Morrison, and a woman who has more than a passing resemblance to Amelia Earhart. And that's only the beginning.
Eternity is the sort of charming spot tourists flock to every summer and leave every fall when the heavy snows render it an isolated ghost town. Tourists and New Agers all talk about the strange energy coming from Eternity's greatest attraction: a mountain called Icehouse, replete with legends of Bigfoot, UFOs, Ascended Masters, and more. But the locals talk about something else.
The seemingly quiet town is plagued by strange deaths, grisly murders, and unspeakable mutilations, all the work of a serial killer the locals insist is Jack the Ripper. And they want Zach Tully to stop him.
Now, as the tourists leave and the first snow starts to fall, terror grips Eternity as an undying evil begins its hunt once again …
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Haunted
Murders and Madness
Its violent, sordid past is what draws bestselling author David Masters to the infamous Victorian mansion called Baudey House. Its shrouded history of madness and murder is just the inspiration he needs to write his ultimate masterpiece of horror. But what waits for David and his sixteen-year-old daughter, Amber, at Baudey House, is more terrifying than any legend…
Seduction
First comes the sultry hint of jasmine…followed by the foul stench of decay. It is the dead, seducing the living, in an age-old ritual of perverted desire and unholy blood lust. For David and Amber, an unspeakable possession has begun…
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Moonfall
Moonfall, the picturesque town nestled in the mountains of southern California, is a quaint hamlet of antique stores, cider mills, and pie shops, and Apple Heaven, run by the dedicated nuns of St. Gertrude's Home for Girls, is the most popular destination of all. As autumn fills the air, the townspeople prepare for the Halloween Haunt, Moonfall's most popular tourist attraction. Even a series of unsolved deaths over the years hasn't dimmed Moonfall's enthusiasm for the holiday.
Now, orphan Sara Hawthorne returns to teach in the hallowed halls of St. Gertrude's where, twelve years before, her best friend died a horrible death. In Sara's old room, distant voices echo in the dark and the tormented cries of children shatter the moon-kissed night.
But that's just the beginning. For Sara Hawthorne is about to uncover St. Gertrude's hellish secret...a secret she may well carry with her to t
he grave.
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Bad Things
The Piper clan emigrated from Scotland and founded the town of Santo Verde, California. The Gothic Victorian estate built there has housed the family for generations, and has also become home to an ancient evil forever linked to the Piper name. . .
As a boy, Rick Piper discovered he had "the sight." It was supposed to be a family myth, but Rick could see the greenjacks--the tiny mischievous demons who taunted him throughout his childhood--and who stole the soul of his twin brother Robin one Halloween night.
Now a widower with two children of his own, Rick has returned home to build a new life. He wants to believe the greenjacks don't exist, that they were a figment of his own childish fears and the vicious torment he suffered at the hands of his brother. But he can still see and hear them, and they haven't forgotten that Rick escaped them so long ago. And this time, they don't just want Rick. This time they want his children …
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The Forgotten
The Past ...
Will Banning survived a childhood so rough, his mind has blocked it out almost entirely--especially the horrific day his brother Michael died, a memory that flickers on the edge of his consciousness as if from a dream.
Isn't Gone …
Now, as a successful psychologist, Will helps others dispel the fears the past can conjure. But he has no explanation for the increasingly bizarre paranoia affecting the inhabitants of Caledonia, California, many of whom claim to see terrifying visions and hear ominous voices. . .voices that tell them to do unspeakable things ...
It's Deadly
As madness and murderous impulses grip the coastal town, Will is compelled to confront his greatest fear and unlock the terrifying secret of his own past in a place where evil isn't just a memory. . .it's alive and waiting to strike …
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