“There’s beer?” Jason asked.
“Boy, you don’t get out much,” Zeta said. “You’ve been hanging out with Jackie too long.”
Jackie gave Will and his henchmen one last searing look and then followed Jason and Zeta into the kitchen. The floor was sticky from spilled beer and liquor. It made a tacky sound as Jackie walked across it. The table was covered with bottles of hard liquor. By the fridge, the trash was overstuffed with plastic cups, paper plates, napkins, and empty booze bottles. A keg sat near the sink.
Jason and Zeta took a cup from a tower sitting on the countertop. Jason tapped beer from the keg. Foam ran over the edges of his cup.
“First time?” Zeta asked. “Give me that.” She dumped the foam in the sink and showed Jason how to properly tap beer.
“Hey, freak,” Will said. “No one invited you.”
Will, Sean, and John blocked the kitchen doorway leading out to the front room. Will clutched his executioner’s ax like a security blanket.
“You talking to me?” Jackie asked, her blood heating to a boil.
“Jackie,” Zeta said, caution in her voice.
Jackie took a few steps toward them and stared Will in the eyes. She was about a foot or more shorter than all of them—and about fifty pounds lighter—but she didn’t care. She could take out the whole bunch.
“Go home, witch girl,” Sean said. “No one wants to be in the same room as you.”
If Jackie could shoot daggers out of her eyes, she would have. “I can do anything I please.” Her voice came out dark and heavy.
She cleared her throat. Will, Sean, and John stepped back. A figure in a red velvet cape and hood watched them from the stairs.
“Just leave,” Will said to Jackie.
“Make me.” Her voice came out sounding weird again. She swore her hair was standing on end. She was so pumped with energy.
“Want me to carry her out?” Sean asked Will.
“Do it,” Will said and pushed Sean.
Jackie shot a look at Sean, who stumbled toward her like he had been knocked out of bounds. The veins in her arms pulsed.
Sean sailed backward. Flying through air, he slammed into Will and John.
“Holy shit,” John said. He and Will helped Sean up from the floor.
Everyone was mumbling and staring at her like she had been the one who threw Sean. The figure standing on the stairs dropped its hood.
“Trish,” Jackie said. Their eyes locked on one another. A voice inside Jackie told her that Trish had to be stopped.
Trish ran out the front door. Jackie followed her out into the yard and around the house. Jason and Zeta chased behind her as Trish moved briskly down the sidewalk.
Bright pink lights flashed up ahead. Two squad cars, a fire truck, and an ambulance were parked along the curb. Trish paused by the ambulance. Her face was pale, her expression distraught. She cut between the fire truck and ambulance. On the other side of the street, she disappeared into a dark gangway.
“They’re inside your Dad’s house,” Zeta said, out of breath.
“What?” Jackie asked distracted by Trish’s disappearance.
Jason squeezed Jackie’s shoulder near her broken wing. “Go on. We’ll wait here.”
Jackie realized the paramedics were at her dad’s house. “And do what?”
“See what’s up,” Zeta said. “He’s your father.”
The word “father” slammed into her chest.
A paramedic held open the front door while two others carried out a gurney with a man strapped to it. It was her dad. A woman wearing pajama bottoms and a coat followed them, crying.
“Maybe you can ride in the ambulance,” Jason said. “Zeta and I will meet you at the hospital.”
“She can have my ride,” Jackie said referring to the frantic woman following the gurney.
Zeta squinted. “What’s wrong with you?”
“Ha. That’s the same question Dad kept asking when I was twelve. ‘What’s wrong with you, Jackie? Why can’t you just be normal?’ I’ll tell you what’s wrong with me. He’s my father. He was supposed to stand up for me. And what did he do? He left my mom and me. So, no, I’m not getting into that ambulance with him.”
“Wow,” Zeta said. “Where did that come from?”
Jackie’s chest was on fire, her forehead rolling with sweat.
“You think you should call your ma?” Jason asked.
“Yeah. Maybe I will.” Even though it shouldn’t be any concern of hers, it would be fun to see how she dealt with this.
***
At the hospital, Jackie, Mom, Jason, and Zeta sat in the waiting room, along with that other woman. Mom was being polite to her, but Jackie could tell Mom was bothered by the fact that Dad had replaced her with someone else. Jackie wondered what Mom told Andy. He was probably wondering if Mom still had feelings for Dad. So what if Dad had an aneurism and was now in a coma. It wasn’t like he’d be crying over Mom. He always blamed Mom for being weak and too sentimental. And he was right.
“Don’t worry,” Zeta said to Jackie. “I’m sure he’ll pull through this.”
Jackie drew back her head; her chest jutted slightly. Did Zeta really think she was worried?
Jason rubbed Jackie’s hand. She wished he’d knock it off.
His face lit like he had just been hit in the head with an amazing idea. “Hey. Why don’t you try healing your dad?”
Jackie’s chest felt like it had been pierced with a hot iron rod. She gritted her teeth.
“What?” Jason asked.
“Yeah, Jackie,” Zeta said. “Why not? What do you have to lose?”
“I’m going to lay my hands on a man who wanted nothing to do with my so-called gift? I don’t think so.”
Mom leaned over. “You really can heal?”
“Yeah, where have you been?”
“I thought you were just…”
“You can say it, Mom. Psychic?”
“You’re good with that now?”
“I’m pretty much dealing with it now. I’m dealing with a lot of shit, so don’t get me started.”
“Sorry.” She turned to Zeta. “What’s wrong with her?”
“You’re asking Zeta what’s wrong with me? I’ll tell you. All my life, I’ve been protecting you, keeping silent, because you were too weak to deal with my problems. Now you want to know if I’m good with it? Well, I’m not. And I’m not good with the idea of healing a man who has never accepted me as I am.” She stood up. “I’m going home. I’ve had enough for one evening. Good night, folks.”
She walked down the hall, alone. Mom cried.
“Wait up,” Jason said.
She stopped. “Forget it, Jason. It ain’t going to happen tonight.”
“What?”
“You know. Go home and take a cold shower.”
“I wasn’t even thinking that. I’m worried about you.”
She rolled her eyes. “Get over it.”
“You’re not acting like yourself,” he said. “Something’s happened.”
“It’s called apathy.”
“No. I used to feel this energy around you.”
“What? Are you me now?”
“I’m not dead. It’s what people open to you felt back in the day.”
“Is that why you asked me to heal you?”
He nodded. “But now it’s you who needs healing.”
She turned abruptly and left him standing there.
Jackie wandered the streets looking for Trish. She was like a fly in the ointment. Meddling in things bigger than herself. Stuff she didn’t understand. She needed to stay away.
After walking in the dark for an hour, Jackie asked herself why she even gave a shit. Trish hadn’t any power over her. Not anymore.
***
When Jackie came home, Mom was at the kitchen counter pouring a huge glass full of gin. Jackie was tired, and a bit of sympathy for Mom slipped into her gut. Her stomach felt queasy and panging with regret. She considered apol
ogizing to Mom, but she couldn’t, and she couldn’t even get her feet to move toward the kitchen.
Mom’s a big girl. She’ll be fine.
Babu’s door was halfway open. Lit candles packed the dresser. Just Jackie’s picture sat on the dresser among the many candles. The bed was empty.
Dressed in black, Babu appeared in the doorway, her eyes full of pity and sadness. She kissed the cross on her chotki and then closed the door in Jackie’s face.
There’s something terribly, terribly wrong with me.
In her room, Jackie sat on the floor. Eyes closed and open hands on knees, she took a deep breath, held it, and imagined the breath absorbing the apathy inside her. She exhaled, imagining it shooting out her nose and mouth. She was tired, but she did it a few more times. Then she tried to imagine Babu’s light, but all she could see was Babu kissing the chotki cross and shutting the door in her face.
The crystal!
Maybe Madam Sophie had been trying to give her the crystal for this very reason.
Chapter 55
In the morning, Jackie went to Madam Sophie’s. Why wasn’t Madam Sophie opening the door? Jackie knew she was in there. Her “Psychic Reading $20” sign burned in the window, which meant she was open for business. Jackie’s body heated, and her nostrils flared. She pounded the door. “I’m not leaving until you let me in.”
She continued to pound and make threats.
The door opened.
“I need that crystal.”
Madam Sophie gripped the edge of the door.
“Aren’t you going to invite me in?”
Her shoulders lifted and tightened.
“What’s wrong with you? What? Are you through with me? You got Jackie to work her magic, and now your job is done?”
Madam Sophie slowly stepped to the side.
Jackie swept past her, scanning the room for the crystal. “Where is it?”
“It won’t work for you.”
“You said it would keep me safe. I need it.” She slid open the end table drawer. Empty.
“I think, my dear, it’s too late.”
“You knew this was going to happen?” She stepped toward Madam Sophie, whose eyes were wide, with pupils like eclipsed moons.
“Not this, I only wanted you to use your power, to quit denying your talent.” She used a kind, friendly tone.
“You let me believe it was all physics.”
Madam Sophie took several steps backward. “It’s what you wanted to believe, and it was the only way.”
“You lied about the solar storm?”
“No. It was partly true. The solar storm did affect Jason’s house, the church icon, and the things you healed. Although, its power wouldn’t have lasted as long as it did, not without another power. The solar storm enabled it to come through. It’s been playing with you. Slowly crushing you so you’ll never find your own light.”
“Fix it.”
“I can’t. You must go. Don’t come back.”
“I know you can.”
“I can’t.”
“Liar!” Jackie’s body trembled like a volcano ready to spew. The anger inside her, hot as lava.
Jackie had backed Madam Sophie up against the wall. She wrapped both hands around Madam Sophie’s throat. Her knuckles turned white as she squeezed. She didn’t want to do this, but she couldn’t stop herself.
Madam Sophie’s watery eyes bulged. “Let the anger go, Jackie,” she said, her voice raspy. “You know how to protect yourself. You have the skills.”
“Quiet, witch,” Jackie hissed.
Madam Sophie closed her eyes. “When the time comes”—she coughed—“you must open up to him. Let him into your heart.”
“He already is.” Jackie laughed involuntarily and let go of Madam Sophie’s throat.
Madam Sophie slid down the wall, one hand on her throat and the other covering her head as Jackie left.
Chapter 56
Trish, in her hooded cape and fingerless gloves, pounded on Jason’s door. His dad, dressed in a navy blue mechanics outfit, opened it. He looked surprised.
“You’re not Jackie,” he said.
“I need to see Jason.”
“Well, I don’t know if he…”
Jason appeared behind him. “It’s okay, Dad.”
“All right, then,” he said and left them alone.
Jason blocked the doorway with an outstretched arm. “What do you want?”
“I need to talk to you about something... in private.”
Jason looked at her with distrust.
“I’m not here to entice you. Listen, I know now that what I did was wrong. I shouldn’t have pressured you to love me and to work those spells.”
“You what?”
She waved her hand. “Never mind that. I’m afraid something’s wrong with Jackie, and it’s my fault.”
His lips formed a tight, and his hand slipped a little down the door frame.
“You saw what happened at the party,” Trish said. “It wasn’t me who threw Sean.”
He glanced behind him and then closed the door. “Come on.” He led her to his truck. “Spill it,” he said.
“Well, I guess you’ve noticed that Jackie isn’t herself lately.”
Jason burrowed his hands in his jacket pockets and nodded.
“It’s because she isn’t. There’s something inside her, something I invited with my Ouija board.”
“Like a demon?”
Trish nodded. “With me, it traveled at my side. But with Jackie, it’s inside her.”
“Why Jackie?”
“It wants to kill her. Something to do with Babu.”
“For real?”
“How do you think I was able to work the voodoo doll? I thought it was helping me to win you over. But it was just using me.”
“We can’t let it hurt her. How do we get it out?”
“I don’t know. Maybe that priest can help.”
“No,” he snapped. “We’re not calling him.”
Trish raised her hands in defense. “Sorry.”
“Maybe Babu can help. Jackie always says she has this light about her.”
“You know how to speak Russian?”
“No.”
“The priest does.”
Jason kicked the toe of his boot into the dirt. “He’s not a priest. He’s a seminarian, and he can still take Jackie away from me.”
“Whoa. Jealously is truly a green-eyed monster.”
Jason glared at her.
“Sorry. I completely understand. That’s how I got us into this mess. But I’m telling you, if you want to save Jackie, you have to let go.”
“I can’t. Maybe Jackie will know what to do.”
“Jackie doesn’t have much control, and I doubt it will let her do anything to overcome its control over her.”
A rebellious look washed across Jason’s face.
Trish shook her head. “You’re hopeless, you know?”
“No. I have hope.”
“Fine. Maybe we can use the Ouija board to send it back. Maybe it’s like a two-way door.”
“Why are you helping her?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know. At first, I wanted to get even with that demon. But now, maybe I just want to gain your trust. I don’t want you to hate me.”
Jason grimaced. “I’ll talk to Jackie. She has it in her to fight this thing. She’ll know what to do.”
Chapter 57
In school, Mr. Davis was looking like his old self—starched and ironed shirts, a crease down his jeans’ legs, hair slicked back, and reeking with cologne. He wouldn’t call on Jackie whenever she raised her hand, in fact, he didn’t acknowledge her at all. Sometimes, she’d catch him looking at her, and then his eyes would avert from hers.
He was curious about Jason, sometimes even acting protective of him, like the way he lingered by his desk, touching his shoulder in a fatherly waay.
Come father me. I dare you.
Jason was quiet around her, conte
mplative, and cautious. They walked together down the hall to their lockers. As she reached for her locker, Jason touched her arm.
“You okay?” he asked.
“You mean, am I worried about my dad? No. I’m fine.”
“Not that. Just tell me what to do. I’ll help you.”
She knocked him against the locker and pinned him in place. His body froze. He looked so fragile, like she could break him with a touch. She ran her fingers over his youthful face. “You want to help me?”
The color drained from his lips and cheeks, turning them corpse-like. “What happened at Mr. Davis’s house? You never told me. You’ve been acting weird ever since that night. Even Babu thinks you’re acting weird. I noticed the way she stays away from you. And at the party, you threw Sean across the room, without even touching him. Everyone’s talking about it.”
“I didn’t do it. Trish did. She’s the one dabbling with demons and Ouija boards.”
“That’s not what Trish said.”
Her mouth dropped open. “Are you cheating on me with Trish?”
“No.” His voice trembled. “I-I just talked to her. She came to me. She’s worried about you too. We want to help you, but we don’t know what to do.”
“Stay away from me.”
***
Alone, Jackie walked home from school. Piss on them. She didn’t need friends like Zeta, Trish, and Jason. They needed to mind their own business.
Flies buzzed in her head. She grabbed her hair wanting it to stop.
At home, she banged on Babu’s locked bedroom door. “Let me in!” She wiggled the door handle. It was locked. She ought to just kick it in. She wanted to knock those candles to the floor. She wanted to ignite this house and burn alive with it.
Pacing the between the dining room and front room, she noticed that Mom had left an empty gin glass and a half-filled bottle of gin on the coffee table.
I think I’ll get soused. She hadn’t eaten in three days. The alcohol would give her a boost.
She plopped down on the couch and put the bottle to her lips and guzzled. Mom was going to shit when she saw her drunk. She’d probably cry. Ha!
The gin bit her tongue. It burned her throat, warmed her stomach. It rippled through her taut nerves, relaxing them. She guzzled the rest of the bottle. Her muscles went numb.
Possessed (Pagan Light Book 1) Page 24
