“Leave her alone!” I bolted to the bed, this time almost making it before I was flung back onto my ass again. The demon’s grip on Nana faltered and she dropped again to the bed.
I got up again. It couldn’t levitate her and defend against me at the same time.
‘OH YOU THINK SO, MEATBAG?!’ screamed in my mind. The room was blotted from my vision, and filled with a gaping, drooling maw of broken brown teeth. Its tongue pulsed out and I leapt back to keep from being swabbed by its rancidness.
‘HAHAHAHA!’
It vanished, and another pulse of force knocked me to my knees. The pain of the blow was excruciating. I was on all fours, gasping for breath as Nana was again yanked off the bed, and slammed back down. The demon was trying to pull her away from her mattress and over the hardwood floor, but she was hanging onto the bedpost for dear life.
I pushed myself to my feet, my body wracked in pain.
“Keira!” It came from behind me.
I turned and saw Gwen! But then I was once more flat on the floor, the wind knocked out of me. A loud thud and Nana’s scream broke through my dazed head.
Gwen’s hands gripped my arm, tugging me to my feet. “Keira! Your grandmother!” She held me upright, her arm around my waist.
When Gwen grasped me, a dynamic surge coursed through every cell in my body. I felt strengthened in a way I’d never experienced before; a balloon within me I didn’t even know I had, swelled and burst forth.
“Leave this house, Beast!” I screamed. The thunder that exploded from my throat shook the room. “I REBUKE YOU! I COMMAND YOU, GO!”
Nana dropped onto her bed and instantly, the room was normal. The disgusting stench vanished and the howling wind stopped like a light switch was thrown. I was immediately woozy, and staggered. I would have fallen right on my face if Gwen hadn’t caught me. We lurched over to the bed.
Nana was flat on her back and her eyes were closed, her hands no longer clasping the headboard. I bent over her, stroking her cheek.
“Nana?” I burst into tears, sobbing. “Nana?” Oh God, she was so small and so still.
Gwen reached around me with one arm and began to shake Nana; her other one still wrapped around my waist. “Pamela!” she shouted. “Pamela, wake up!”
Her eyelids fluttered and creaked open.
“Keira.” It was a whispered sigh from her lips. I dropped to my knees on the floor beside her and held my arm over her, now bawling like a child. “Oh Nana! I shouldn’t have left! That beast tricked me!”
Gwen’s hand gripped my shoulder. “What the hell was that thing?”
It was then that it hit me. I hadn’t been able to beat the thing back on my own. It had taken Gwen’s presence, joining with me which had given me the supercharge. If she hadn’t shown up when she did... God, I couldn’t bear to think of it. Tears rolled down my cheeks and onto Nana’s bed. We’d probably all be dead if she hadn’t shown up.
“Lawrence!” Just as the thought had popped into my head, Gwen noticed him. She raced over to the far wall and squatted next to him. Her fingers checked his neck for a pulse and then she looked over at me, letting out an audible sigh of relief. “He’s alive!” Like she did with Nana, Gwen prodded Lawrence. “Hey, Lawrence! Wake up! What’s for supper?”
His eyes opened slowly and he pushed himself up, staring at Gwen and then turning to see my grandmother. He started to get to his feet, “Pamela!”
“She’s okay, Lawrence. Well, bruised and shaken up, but she’s okay!” I brushed the tears from my eyes and turned back to gaze down at my Nana. Nana. Yeah, she was all of that. No more GM. “I’ll call an ambulance. We need to get you to the hospital to check you out. Lawrence as well.” I stroked her cheek with the back of my hand.
She shook her head. “That’s not necessary. But, I do need some water.”
I didn’t want to leave her, but I rose to my feet.
“I got this,” I said. Lawrence could probably use one too. In a flash, I was back from the kitchen carrying two glasses of water. Nana had managed to prop a pillow behind her and was sitting up. She was a tough old bird, that was for sure. Even so, her hand trembled as she took the glass.
Lawrence was seated at the foot of the bed. He waved off the offer of water and was staring at Nana. “Pamela, I’m sorry. I failed you.” Reaching up to her, his hand cupped her cheek while his eyes welled with tears.
“You could never fail me, dear.” She looked up at Gwen and me. “But the torch must pass to younger hands.”
TWENTY SEVEN
GWEN FOLDED HER ARMS OVER HER CHEST, her gaze darting over each of us. “For the record, I think you should get checked by a doctor. While we’re there, I’m getting a CAT scan because I’ve just lost my mind.” She looked around the room, her eyes widening. “What the hell just happened here?”
Nana looked up at me and smiled. “I think you were right about Gwen. She will do nicely.”
“I agree.” Lawrence took the glass of water from me and gulped half of it down. He made a face and he smirked looking at the glass. “I think brandy would be better, y’know.” The hair on his head was sticking out all over the place.
Gwen’s fingers threaded through her hair and fisted. “I’m standing right here, by the way. Will someone please tell me what’s going on?” She scowled at me and her hands dropped hard at her sides.
“Gwen. I don’t know where to begin.” It was true. How would I ever explain it rationally? The Veil? Demons? Spirits being transitioned? Mind reading? I’d been involved with all this for a week now and I couldn’t believe what had just happened.
“How about you start by telling me what was attacking your grandmother? Was it the same thing that was in my bedroom before, when we did the Ouija board?”
“Keira! Tell me you didn’t use the Ouija board with Gwen!” Nana sat forward, wincing as her weight settled on her hips.
“That’s it, isn’t it! I’m right! That same thing, that demon or ghost or whatever it was, attacked your grandmother.”
“Now who’s talking like I’m not here?” Nana muttered and took another sip of water. “You’re right, Lawrence. This calls for brandy.”
When Lawrence turned to leave, I held up my hand, stopping him. “You sit down. Everyone, just chill for a minute, will you! I’ll get the brandy. A round for all of us.” I called over my shoulder as I headed out, “Gwen, grab a chair. This is going to take a while.”
I set the full decanter on a tray along with four snifters and winced a little at the aches all over my body. I was going to be plenty sore tomorrow.
I marched back into Nana’s room... Nana’s room. I smiled. That felt right saying it, even if it was just in my head.
Gwen had pulled the upholstered chair close to the bed, while Lawrence nestled on the bed next to Nana. I set the tray on her nightstand and poured.
After Nana had hers in hand, I extended Lawrence his glass. He smiled up at me. “This is nice. Me being served for a change. I could get used to this.”
I smiled and shook my head. “Anytime, Lawrence.” When Gwen and I each had our glasses, I pulled up the chair from the dressing table and took a seat. I turned to Gwen, who was still looking suspiciously at the rest of us. “First of all, I want to thank you for helping me earlier. If you hadn’t shown up when you did... wait a minute. Why did you?”
Gwen’s jaw tightened. “Oh for Pete’s sake! I’m the one who gets to ask the questions. But for your information, the way you tore out of my house, I knew there was trouble. I knew I had to help you.”
“A very good sign, wouldn’t you say, Pamela?” Lawrence smiled and nudged Nana with his hand.
“Very.” She took a sip of the liquor and sighed, folding her hand over his.
I had to bite my cheeks to keep from laughing at the exasperation on Gwen’s face. Before she could start yelling again, I took a deep breath. “It was a demon that was in your bedroom. I caught a flash of it there and realized its plot. The Ouija board, you buying it... it was
all a set-up. A diversion. The real target was my grandmother.”
She leaned forward, her hand gripping her knee. “But why? Why would that thing, want to hurt her?”
“It was the work of my enemy. I don’t doubt that. But that brings up the real danger. Now that that demon knows about you Keira, no doubt my enemy does too.” Nana’s eyes were steely, gazing over at me.
“Again, you’re talking in riddles. Can someone just explain what’s going on here in plain language?” Gwen’s fingers thrummed on her leg.
Lawrence sat forward. “For years Pamela has worked with the spirit world, Gwen. She can see and communicate with them. She has helped many people; done work at hospitals, prisons and, well anyplace where spirits linger. She convinces them to move on... to go to the higher plane where they should be.”
Gwen’s mouth slowly drifted open and her eyes gaped at him. “She can communicate with the dead?” She turned to me. “Like you?”
“Actually, I’ve only been doing it since I arrived here last week.” I tilted my head. “Nana’s been doing it for years and years.”
Nana leaned forward. “Gwen, I do this to help people and spirits find peace. For the most part neither are comfortable when they inhabit the same space in the earthly plane. There is a thin Veil which separates life and death. When the souls of those who’ve died refuse to pass through... either from fear or confusion—”
“Or love.” Gwen was thinking of her mother.
Nana nodded. “Yes, that’s a powerful motivation to linger.” She took a breath and continued, “But there is a natural progression of existence. Spirits are meant to move on. Too much of their energy on this plane damages the natural order. It even impacts the universe.”
“Kind of like the butterfly effect.” Gwen’s eyebrows formed a V. “I’ve studied physics and even became familiar with quantum physics.” She held up her hand. “Wait. No. You’re talking about stuff string theory touches on, aren’t you? A multidimensional model of existence.”
“I can’t speak to the technical aspects, it’s more an intuitive thing for me. I just know The Veil becomes weaker because of this.”
“But why would anyone want to interfere with this process, the natural order of things? What is to be gained if this Veil becomes weak?” Gwen’s eyes narrowed, trying to process this.
Lawrence sighed. “Sometimes, there isn’t a specific gain for people to act the way they do. Chaos, a breakdown of order is a sufficient goal, in and of itself. Think of it like these computer hackers creating viruses and malware. They gain nothing but the thrill of creating havoc in other people’s lives.”
I watched her closely to see how this was all going down with her. She had a grasp of it but would she be willing to devote her life like Lawrence had? “Gwen? You and I were meant to work together on this. When we joined hands, the power to fight off that entity went off the charts.”
She held up her hand cutting me off. “Hold on! There’re a lot more questions I want answers to. First of all... what’s with this house? The place has been haunted for years and yet you, Mrs. York—some kind of ghost buster—lived with it? How could you stay here? How could they, if this has been your life’s work?”
Nana smiled and took a sip of her brandy, totally unfazed by Gwen’s questions. “I bought this house because it was haunted. But it wasn’t just that it was haunted—it sits on an axis of supernatural power, a Ley line.”
“A what?”
“Ley lines. Corridors of power that transcends the world as we know it. Some of the better known Ley line axes are Stonehenge, the Mayan temples and the pyramids but there are many grid lines which cross the earth. This house sits on the axis of two powerful ones.”
Nana smiled and rested a hand on Gwen’s forearm. “As for the ghosts who have lived here... most of them, I dispelled. I kept a few for training purposes, yes.” She glanced over to me. “But it was more than that, Keira. Molly and Sam became old friends; believe it or not, I miss them now.” She turned her head to Gwen. “So I can appreciate you wanting your mother’s spirit to linger.”
“Thank you,” she replied.
“But dear, it comes at a cost. She’s not where she belongs.”
Gwen’s eyes narrowed. “I’ll be the judge of that.”
They did a sort of stare down. Without looking away, Nana said softly, “No, Gwen; that decision will rest with your mother.” She blinked. “That’s a topic for another day, I think. I was talking about the spirits who stayed on here until Keira arrived.”
“Yeah,” I said. “You kept Jarrod on to show me how tough it can be. Did you know about the demon all this time?”
“No. It had never shown itself. I had used the Ouija board to force Jarrod’s hand; but as I told you, using it risks opening a channel for those beasts.” She turned to Gwen, “As you saw for yourself.” Gwen stayed silent. “It was necessary for Keira to see that this vocation has its risks.”
“Well, you sure demonstrated that!” I said. This time it was my turn to be confused. “But Jarrod... he’s still here, right? I’m pretty sure the demon was holding him here. Jarrod was too frightened by it to make any sort of move.”
Nana turned to me. “I believe Jarrod moved on when you vanquished the demon here. By that time, after being in its thrall, he was quite ready to go.”
“How did I get the demon to leave? I did it at Gwen’s as well, even though I still think it was a set-up from the get-go.”
Nana looked from me, to Gwen, and back, chewing her lower lip. “Because of Gwen, I think. Together, both of you were strong enough to push it back. But don’t make the mistake of thinking you’ve destroyed it. It’s regrouping even as we speak. Although it will need some time for that. Just as we are bruised from our battle, so is it. Nana held her glass out for a refill. “That is good brandy. It’s hitting the spot, all right.”
I topped her up and then downed some of my own glass, relishing the burn as it made its way down my throat. I felt the warmth extend right into my bones. I rolled my shoulders, wincing at the pain.
Gwen wasn’t giving up with the questions. “The rose in your front yard... it blooms even in winter. Is that part of this Ley-line thing? The house sitting on kind of hallowed ground or power grid?”
“Yes, you’re on the right track,” Nana chuckled. “There is tremendous power here. Whenever I’ve been abroad, doing my work, I come home drained. It takes a lot out of you, as you will find out, Keira. This house itself recharges me. It’s been a solace that I searched the world to find. It helps that’s it’s not terribly far from where my daughter lives, as well.”
I took a deep breath. It was do-or-die time. “Gwen, would you consider helping me with continuing what my grandmother has done?”
Her eyes opened wide. “Are you kidding me? This would be the dream come true! It would be fascinating!” She looked around the room. “Even if it gets scary.” She closed her eyes and shook her head. “But I can’t. I have my father to look after, not to mention my job. I can’t go traipsing around the world with you.”
I scoffed and my hand fluttered high dismissing her concerns. “Don’t worry about your dad. I’ll hire the very best care and as for your job... really? I’ll pay you a lot more than what you’re making at the post office. We’ll make a great team!” I slapped her knee.
She shook her head. “It’s not about money. My big concern is my dad. From the sounds of it, we’d be gone for long periods of time. I’m not sure about that part.”
“Look Gwen, we can figure something out. I think the important question right now, is if you would want to do this work. I think you do. I really like your dad and he’d want you to be happy, wouldn’t he? We won’t abandon him, don’t worry.” I knew we could do this, together.
I looked over at Lawrence and Nana who were holding hands, smiling at us. She let go of his hand and held out her hands to us. “Take my hands, girls.”
The three of us, held hands, making a small circle. I felt in my hea
rt what I can only describe as a rose-colored glow fill and spread out through my chest. Gwen let out a little gasp, and Nana smiled.
She let go and looked at us with a knowing smile. “You two are kindred spirits you know.”
Gwen chuckled. “I was thinking the same thing.” She turned her head to me, nodding.
“Kindred spirits, huh? I like that term. It sounds cool.”
Gwen and Nana looked at each other and laughed. What was so funny? I shrugged. Let them have their private joke. “Anyone care for some key lime pie?”
TWENTY EIGHT
GWEN FOLLOWED ME INTO THE KITCHEN. “I’m still smoked by what just happened. All this time, your grandmother and Lawrence have been living this secret life—traveling the world and being some kind of exorcist or something. Confronting demons even!”
I popped the frozen pie into the microwave to thaw and then turned to her. “When he started, Lawrence didn’t have any special abilities in this. He trained himself to become attuned to it, so he could help my grandmother.”
“Well, I’ve never seen my dead mother... but I’ve sensed her being near, if that counts for anything.” Gwen reached for the plates and set them down on the counter. “And I’ve read a lot about this, so that gives me a leg up, I think.”
Haunted Hideout Page 33
