The Crimson Key

by Christy Sloat

  “Lyn, they could put you away for a while if you don’t come back to us right now. I know you’re in there,” I said, choking back the tears. “You have to tell them this was an accident, you didn’t know it would be that hot. Do you understand me?” She stared right into my eyes and said nothing.

  I heard the footfalls on the stairs as the EMT’s came up. They were coming in now and would see her like this. Her rants would sound absolutely crazy to them, not that it didn’t to us, but they wouldn’t understand why she was acting like this.

  Sure enough the EMT started asking her questions. Ephraim held me as we stood out in the hallway, his chin resting on my head. I felt the tears fall from his eyes as they landed on me. I bit my hand, trying not to cry. Seeing her like this made me ill. I couldn’t handle this; I had to stop it from getting worse.

  A stern faced officer came to talk to us. She didn’t look happy that there was no parent around to discuss the situation with.

  “Your sister seems to have suffered burns that look like second degree at this point. Any reason why the water heater would be set so high?” Ephraim froze.

  “It’s finicky,” I answered for him. She nodded and looked over her shoulder at the stretcher that now carried my friend down to the ambulance.

  “She is in shock, which is completely normal for the amount of pain she is in right now. One person can ride with the ambulance to the hospital.”

  Ephraim stepped forward, following her out the door. He briefly turned back. “I’ll call you and let you know when she is settled, okay?”

  I smiled, trying to look hopeful. “Yep,” I said. He walked out the door and I fell to my knees and cried. My mom came up behind me and rested her hand on my back for support. I knew she was trying to tell me it would be okay, but it wouldn’t and she didn’t know the truth. I got up and followed her out of the house, stopping right before the doorway.

  “Wait one sec, Mom. I forgot something upstairs,” I lied.

  “Okay, I will meet you at the car. Lock up behind yourself on the way out.” I nodded and let her leave. I ran to the basement, looking for the water heater. I had to check the temperature on it. I had learned once that if it’s set too high it will burn you. I looked for the little gauge, and sure enough I found it. It was turned all the way up. I didn’t know how hot that was, but it had to be damn hot. Hot enough to scald Lyn, causing burns and blisters. I didn’t know who would do this to her or why. I walked out of the house and locked the door behind me. Just as I slammed it shut, an arm reached out and turned me around fast.

  I was forced up against the door by an energy that was felt and not seen. My breath was ragged already, but this force was pressing all the air out of my lungs, as if I was being strangled. I fought to get free, even kicking the air around me. Nothing happened. Whatever this was, it was evil and it was apparent that they were trying to send a message to me that snooping is a no-no. I started to plead, “Please …” My eyes watered as I fought for breath and finally I was let go. I fell to the ground gasping for air.

  “Take this as a warning to mind your own business, little girl,” said a sinister whisper. I felt something stroke my face and a cold rush of air pass me. Then, I was alone again.

  My mom and I reached the hospital to be met by Ephraim at the front entrance. The grim look on his face gave me a sick feeling in my stomach. I had already encountered enough stress, and now I awaited the news. He hugged me and my mom tightly, and then held my hand in his. “They aren’t letting anyone in except family. My mom is up there with her now. She is stable,” he said. “She is asleep and comfortable.” Relief that she was stable washed over me. That meant that she may be okay physically; mentally I wasn’t sure what was happening.

  “How did this happen?” my mom asked, to my dismay. I had hoped she wouldn’t ask how it went down, but instead just focus on the recovery of my friend.

  “She went in to take a shower and the water burnt her so bad she went into shock.” Ephraim’s lies reached his eyes, and I could see he didn’t like to tell them. He was a brutally honest person who had been forced to lie to people constantly. To protect them with the lies was better than scaring them with the truth. Who knew how many people we would lose if we told them the truth.

  “We can’t see her?” I asked to spare Ephraim from any of my mom’s questions. He shook his head and I hugged him. He trembled slightly, and pulled me aside for a moment. My mom got into her car and let us have a moment to ourselves.

  “I leave tomorrow. I won’t be here to see her when she wakes up.” I hated that this had to happen right before I left. Now I didn’t want to leave even more so than before. I tried to come up with schemes to stay here, but even this wouldn’t sway my parents. Now, even more than before, they wanted me to leave for a bit. My mom said that a break would be good for me. I think she was the one who needed a break if you asked me. But no one ever did.

  “I promise to keep you updated on her recovery. The doctor said she has to stay here for a few days.” He sighed. “My mom spazzed out and pretty much blamed me.” His usually blue eyes turned a cloudy grey suddenly.

  “It’s not your fault. I checked the thermostat on the water heater, it was up on high. Ephraim, you didn’t do that to her. I think she was being possessed by someone.” I hated to have to bring that all up again, especially now. He only nodded as I spoke. “She wasn’t herself. I wish I could understand it all. Damn it, I wish I wasn’t leaving tomorrow.”

  He gripped my shoulders and forced me to look at him. “You can’t save us. I told you that before, now you need to believe it. There will always be something that takes you away from me.” My heart practically broke in half. What he said was true, although I didn’t want to believe it. I wanted to believe that I would be the hero in our stories. Instead I was the one who could do nothing to help the ones I loved the most.

  “I am so sorry,” I whispered.

  “I want you to go and have a good time. Don’t worry about anything, it will be fine. I will watch her like a hawk.” He kissed my forehead and I leaned into him, realizing that this was our good-bye until I got home. He wouldn’t be kissing me at the airport like we had planned. Instead, I would leave him and Lyn to fend for themselves against two evil ghosts and a centuries old curse that coursed through them.

  “Ephraim, I talked to Evangeline today,” I told him. His eyes shot to mine with shock. “She promised me she would end the curse if I find her sister and reunite them.” I had hoped he would smile and embrace me as his savior. Instead, he looked like I had just punched him in the gut. He crumpled in half and sat on the curb behind us. He bent his head as I sat with him. “I don’t understand. You’re supposed to be happy about this.”

  He shook his head before speaking. “It’s great news, but I don’t like it. The whole you finding the sister and reuniting them. You’re involving yourself with their witchcraft and I do not want you to get hurt. You have to find another way.” He didn’t get it. There was no other way. This was our only option!

  Just as I started to argue my point I heard the tell-tale voice of John. Ephraim stood as John came closer and he pulled me into his arms. It was his way of protecting me from his scummy cousin. Even though they had worked out their problems, he knew John was a pig.

  “I heard our little Lynley got herself hurt. I came to pay my respects,” he said as he held up a bouquet of flowers.

  “You pay your respects when someone passes away, dumb-ass,” I told him as I stood tall. I was at least a foot taller than him and I took full advantage of that. I wouldn’t let him be rude about Lyn being hurt, not here and especially not now.

  He laughed. “My bad. I meant that I came here to check on her. Is she all right?”

  “She is stable,” Ephraim said, taking the flowers. “I will make sure she gets these.”

  It was super tense now between the two of them. I had seen this before many times.

  “I think I will give her the flowers myself, thanks,” John
said, snatching them back. A few petals fell to the ground and he trampled them as he pushed past Ephraim.

  “How did you even know she was here?” Ephraim asked. John turned with a smile plastered on his face.

  “Your mom told me.” He entered the hospital and I could hear his laughter from where I stood.

  “Your mom?”

  Ephraim shrugged and went inside. Just before he did, he turned to me and blew me a kiss.

  “I love you,” he said as the glass doors closed before him.

  Chapter 12

  Trying to sleep before you go on a trip is already impossible. Trying to sleep when your best friend lies in the hospital covered with burns and your boyfriend doesn’t answer your calls is plain torture. I pulled my phone out once more, checking to see if he called. Sure enough, he hadn’t. I hated this feeling. It was the nagging suspicion that his ‘I love you’ sounded so final. It wasn’t like a normal good-bye either. He basically told me it was over and we would not be seeing each other again when I got back. Not because he was ending it, but that he wouldn’t be here when I got home. My stomach felt sick at the thought of them dying while I was away. While I sat in sunshine, they would be suffering. I couldn’t take it anymore and I got up. I slipped on my flip flops and crept downstairs. I wouldn’t dare go out my window, I wasn’t that brave. My dad was watching TV when I reached the landing.

  “What are you doing up?” he asked as he turned the volume down.

  “I want to go see if Ephraim is home. I just have to see how Lyn is doing,” I told him.

  “Brylee, it’s not a good time to go knocking on their door. Besides, no one is home yet.”

  I sat down next to my dad and pulled off my flops. I curled up on the couch and he handed me a blanket.

  “How do you know?” I asked as I yawned. I was beat, the day’s events washing over me as I lay on the couch. That was the problem, I was overtired.

  “I haven’t seen anyone pull in,” he answered simply. “I am sure they are still with her.”

  He shut off the TV and left me half asleep on the couch. Exhaustion from emotions was taking me over now.

  “I just wanted to say good-bye is all.” And that was it, I was sleeping. I didn’t even hear my dad cover me up with a larger blanket. I was gone. My dreams had taken me now, and I let them make the day I had go away.

  The next morning I didn’t want to wake up, but the sound of my dad whispering in my ear jolted me awake. I sat up and stared at his tired eyes.

  “What time is it?” I asked him as I stretched. He laughed at me, throwing a dish towel from the kitchen.

  “Almost six,” he said, pouring both of us a cup of coffee as I got up. My body was not ready to be awake as I wobbled to the kitchen. Upon looking out the window I could see the sun rising over the trees. It was early. I wasn’t prepared to board a plane and travel. I just wanted to crawl back into my bed and go back to my dream of Ephraim. It was a subtle dream about us being together, but it was magical. We lay in the high grass outside on a blanket, kissing and talking. It was perfect, and all I wanted to do with my summer break. I joined my dad at the nook and sipped my coffee slowly.

  “So, you will be happy to learn that your Dad changed the time of our flight. This way you can go visit Lynley before we leave,” my dad said as he added milk to his cup. I reached across and hugged his neck tightly. This was a huge thing, and he did it because he knew just how much I needed to see them before I left.

  “Better go get dressed.” I smiled and released him from my hug. Grabbing whatever I could find, I threw it on. It didn’t matter what I was wearing, I just wanted to see Lyn. I wanted to make sure she was going to be okay when I got back. I yanked open my bedside drawer and pulled out a piece of paper. I figured the best thing would be to draw her a sketch while my dad drove us there. I searched for the perfect pencil when it hit me; the key was gone. Dread filled me through and through. I had totally forgotten to tell Ephraim about it being gone yesterday. I had meant to question Evangeline about it more, but Lynley’s accident interrupted our talk. She had to have been the one to take it, although she said it wasn’t her. Was I to believe her?

  Dad waited in the car while I went up to visit Lyn. He gave me an hour to spend with her, and then we had to go home and pick up my mom. We were flying out in a few hours so I had to make our good-bye short but memorable. I reached the nurse’s desk and gave her my name. I was handed a visitor’s sticker and led to a cold, bright room. Lyn lay in the bed with no blankets on. I gasped at the burns that covered every inch of visible flesh. I didn’t want to be hurtful or shocked, but she was unrecognizable. She didn’t seem to notice me at first, but I crept closer. I hoped this would work and she would be all better. She would jump from the bed and tell me this was all a joke, that yesterday didn’t happen.

  “Don’t touch her skin now, okay?” the nurse asked. I nodded and she left me alone with Lyn.

  “Lynley, hey,” I started. “I came to say good-bye before we fly out. I couldn’t leave without saying bye.”

  She gave me a sad smile. Her burns looked an angry shade of red, and I glanced away for a moment. Ephraim was asleep on a cot in the corner of the room. He looked so small huddled up on it. He was uncovered, so I pulled a blanket from a pile of them on the sink. I lay it across him and let him be.

  “Bry,” Lyn whispered.

  “Yeah.”

  “I am so sorry that you had to see me like that. I am sorry that I am … here.” Tears were running down her cheeks, leaving streaks. I wanted to hug her but I couldn’t. I wasn’t allowed to touch her burns. Her skin was covered with a paste of sorts that was meant to heal her. I hoped that it would do its job and I would come home to happy Lynley. I would take her to the beach and she would feel better there, because for some reason that is where she is happiest. Away from the houses and the evil that lurks around her.

  “Lyn, do not apologize for that. I know you were not you,” I whispered.

  “No, it was me. I just don’t understand why I was doing it and not feeling the effects of the hot water.” She took a deep breath before going on. “I was talking to Evangeline and she was trying to make me do something. I don’t remember what it was, but I do remember I didn’t want to do it. I started getting so cold, and she told me to take a hot shower.” I took a step backwards. Evangeline told her to take a hot shower?

  “She told me to be as warm as the sun.” I gulped air until I couldn’t breathe right. I fell into the chair with a thud. It was so loud I was sure I would have woken up Ephraim, but he still lay motionless.

  It was all Evangeline’s doing! She wanted Lynley to get hurt. She must have turned up the heat on the water heater and made her burn her skin. Heck, maybe she made Lyn stay in the shower and take the punishment.

  “Why didn’t you just get out?”

  “I wish it were that easy to explain. It was like I was possessed or something. I couldn’t control myself,” she answered truthfully.

  I didn’t want to only talk about that on this visit. I wouldn’t see her for two weeks, I wanted her to know I was coming back. I held up the picture I drew on the ride over. It was of her. The way I saw her, bright eyes and beautiful freckled skin. Her hair is neat and she is wearing her favorite headband. She grabbed the picture and the small smile grew larger upon her face.

  “Thank you, I love it.” I touched her hand, just testing it out, hopeful that I could grab it. Then she pulled me closer to her and into a hug. I didn’t touch her back, afraid of hurting her.

  “It’s okay, it doesn’t hurt,” she said into my hair. Gently I held her, my fragile friend. I said a silent prayer that she would be stronger when I got back. Something told me she would be better and back to normal. I hung onto that feeling as I left the room. Ephraim never woke up. Lyn told me he stayed up all night with her, so I didn’t bother him. We would see each other in two weeks, it wasn’t like I was leaving for good.

  As I left the hospital that day, the same feeling th
at told me Lyn would be okay, told me Ephraim wouldn’t.

  Chapter 13

  Flying seriously sucks. I mean, who likes to fly? I would like to meet that person and shake their hand for being so cool. That person must like small spaces and strangers breathing all over them. They like peeing in tiny bathrooms barely big enough for you to stand in. And they must love the feeling of nausea you get when you descend and land.

  I felt sick for almost an hour after we landed. I almost threw up as soon as we got off the plane, but I figured puking in a public trashcan wasn’t the best way for my family to start our vacation. Instead I begged my dad for peanuts and ginger soda. He got it for me, and luckily it settled my stomach a little. Once the heat from the outside hit me, the feeling came back. We piled into our rental car and turned on the A/C. It was like an oven out there. Total heat wave from Hell! My parents went on and on about our plans for the day. Visit my grandparents, have dinner at our favorite sushi restaurant, and then swim in the hotel pool. The last part of course was my idea. I seriously wasn’t used to this heat. Yeah, so I was being a baby. Whatever, I missed New Jersey. I missed the spring weather. In California, it goes from cold to hot, no in-between.

  We drove for a little while, passing all familiar places. We finally reached the road my grandparents lived on and I heaved a sigh of relief. Finally a place I wanted to see. My grandparents’ house looked the same as it did when we left. We hadn’t been gone that long anyway, not long enough for them to make any real changes to it, but for some reason I didn’t think it would look the same. Grandma came out and grabbed me, kissing my cheeks. Mumbling on and on about how pale and thin I looked. “Are you hungry? Let’s get some food in you, you’re too thin,” she said as she dragged me to the kitchen. How can you pass up a home-cooked meal by grandma? You can’t, you sit there and eat it with no complaints. My grandma’s cooking was the best.