“Are we starting tonight?” I asked.
An eerie pause passed before he cleared his throat and said, “No. We’ll start tomorrow.”
He pulled the car onto the road and accelerated. I noticed for the first time that we were headed toward Cartersville. He was taking me home. I had an overwhelming urge to hug him. I shot my vision along the line of trees and the road surrounding us. Nobody was in sight, so I flung my arms around his thick neck and squeezed, resting my head on his shoulder. His body shook with gruff chuckles. He kept one hand on the wheel and used the other to reach up and pat my shoulder.
“Just remember I love you,” he said again, and I wondered what he thought he could ever do to make me doubt it.
That night I peered out of my bedroom window and noticed the absence of moonlight and stars. Massive gray clouds filled the winter night sky. A spooky chill was in the air, making me lock my bedroom door.
I got ready for bed, hoping not to disturb Patti, who’d had a rough day. She was having a hard time dealing with the slight shift in authority ever since I’d met my father. Patti’s word was no longer the final say-so, because there was a greater, more dangerous threat that even she could not protect me from. Now all she could do was just hope that she’d raised me right.
My bed was a comfort as I sat, crossing my legs and clasping my hands together. I closed my eyes.
I don’t know what You’ll have me do, or where You’ll have me go, but I trust You. Please show me when it’s time to act. Help me to recognize the signs. Speak to my heart and let me hear.
I awoke with a start at three a.m. Rain battered the windowpane. I closed my eyes and tried to relax, pushing away the strange foreboding. Just as I began to doze again, I felt a chill of certainty that I was being watched. I wanted to scramble under the covers like a child, but I was too scared to move or open my eyes. I held my breath. Was someone in my room?
An image flitted into my mind of a young man standing in an open-air market surrounded by children and women of all ages doing their shopping. I sensed the man’s anxiety and apprehension as he stood there, surveying the gathered crowd with wide eyes. He looked down at the small detonator in his hand and I realized with horror that he was strapped with bombs. He murmured something under his breath. No, don’t do it! I shouted to him, but he didn’t hear me. With a cry into the air he pressed the button, releasing a blinding flash.
I wanted to sit up, but my chest was heavy. Another scene began to play in my mind.
It was a different place now. A man in an office held a telephone—the image switched to the woman on the other end of the phone, his wife, very pregnant, setting out their dinner plates. Her face fell when he said there was a late meeting, and even as he spoke the lie, his mistress was unbuttoning his slacks. The bright red of his lust overshadowed his fog of guilt. My mind snapped into darkness.
What the heck is going on? I gasped for air and pulled the blanket to my chin.
Another image was focusing: terrified dogs, poked to agitation with sticks and then thrown together to rip at one another’s flesh while the surrounding crowd of people jeered, clapped, pointed, and laughed. Stop! It’s not funny! I was sickened by the panic in the animals’ eyes and the human hunger for violence. I continued to gasp, unable to fill my lungs.
A boy now, no older than me, in some sort of basement or cellar, tying a rope to a beam and the other end around his own neck. I shook my head, trying to dispel his crushing feelings of self-doubt and loneliness that reached out to me like dark, strangling fingers. I held a hand out to him. Let me help you, I pleaded. You’re not alone. But his eyes were empty and he let himself drop.
No! I yelled as he twitched and swung. He disappeared in a haze of thought.
A girl slashing the tender skin of her arm with a razor, cutting deeper, hating her life, wanting to shadow that pain with a pain of her own choosing.
A frail old woman robbed and raped, left bloody on the floor in her own house with no hope that either of her busy children would call or visit in time to find her alive.
One terrifying image was replaced by another. Emotions so heavy I thought I might suffocate on despair. I shook my head back and forth, back and forth, begging it to stop. Someone help them! Visions came faster now, even more vivid.
A little girl pretending to sleep as the shadow of a man loomed over her bed.
A teenage boy facedown in a pile of his own vomit.
An unarmed tribe, families with young children, hacked by dull machetes as they begged on their knees for mercy.
A mother with glazed eyes staring down at her red-faced crying infant, plunging him under the water, holding him down in the tub until his flailing stopped. Her dead eyes never looking away.
“No! No!” I clawed at my hair, which was wet with tears.
Five men were now standing over someone on the ground, filled with unfounded hatred and blind fear as they kicked him. The victim continued to change: He was black; he was white; he was Muslim; he was Jewish; he was gay. And the five men kicked and kicked, radiating hate for each victim, terrified of what they could not understand. And there was a final crunching stomp on his face that ended it all.
These were the very atrocities I’d avoided thinking about all my life, but they were out there whether I’d acknowledged them or not. I couldn’t just lie there and take it any longer. I had to move.
Banging sounded on my door, and the knob rattled.
“Anna?” Patti said. “What’s going on in there? Open up!”
I opened my eyes, trying to focus, and I saw them in a flickering flash of lightning.
Demons.
They took turns coming at me, whispering. The spirits were as large as men, but with grimacing gargoyle faces and slow-flapping black wings that overlapped one another, even spanning through the walls. Some had horns and fangs and claws.
Come, follow us to hell, where you belong....
I screamed, scrambling backward until I banged into the headboard.
“Anna!” Patti pounded now, but I could barely hear her. “Open the door!”
Incest. Kidnapping. Molestation. A serial killer taking his time with a begging victim.
The demons surrounded me, at least ten of them, and they were cackling.
What’s the matter, little girl? Scared of the bogeymen?
“Leave me alone!” I cried. “Get out of my head!”
They basked in my fear.
I stumbled from the bed, falling toward my book bag and spinning to press my back against the wall as I ripped open the zipper and pulled out the box.
Soon you’ll be in your rightful home, and we can really have fun with you.
I stood, fumbling for the box’s clasp and losing my grip. It fell to the floor with a crack. I went to my knees, reaching around uselessly. The spirits blurred my night vision. I rocked back on my heels and squeezed my eyes shut.
Please make them leave!
Inhuman shrieks filled the room, making my eyes fly open. Demons were being sucked out through my window as if by a vacuum, until they were gone. A sudden stillness fell, and the only sound was rain crashing outside.
There was a rattling beside me, and then my door swung open and Patti switched on the light. I gasped at the sight of her guardian angel. He was clear to me now. I could make out his features and wings. He was stoic and majestic and huge, like a soldier. He peered around the room and pointed under my bed. The box was halfway underneath. He must have known what was in it. I crawled over and grabbed the box, crushing it to my chest.
“What happened, Anna?” Patti asked, near tears.
She held a flathead screwdriver that she’d used to remove the doorknob.
“I can see the demons now, and they were... giving me nightmares.”
“That was more than a nightmare!” She squatted next to me and smoothed hair from my damp face. “You were screaming like you were being attacked.”
“Just scary visions,” I said, and even though it was
true, it felt like so much more than that. I trembled all the way to the core of my belly. I put a finger to my lips to show her I couldn’t talk about it. Someone might be listening.
We jumped at the sound of rapid, hard knocking on the front door.
I ran down the hall on weak legs, putting an eye to the peephole. It was Kopano.
I flung open the door and he came straight in along with a cold gust of wind, looking around with those serious, somber eyes. He laid a hand on my shoulder. I grabbed his wrist and held on as I tried to catch my breath.
“Anna?” Patti had come in, staring at Kopano.
“This is my friend Kope,” I told her. “He must have been listening out for me.”
He went forward and they shook hands. She crossed her arms over her thin nightgown.
“I need to get my robe on.” Patti headed toward her bedroom and gave us a chance to talk.
“Whisperers were here,” I told Kopano. “I could see them. They showed me all these awful things. I couldn’t think straight. Oh, my gosh, Kope, I think that’s what hell’s going to feel like.”
He reached out to console me just as the front door flew open. I jumped back and screamed. Kaidan stood there with disheveled hair, his forehead creased with worry.
The neighbor’s door across the hall opened, and a bent old man peered out over his oxygen tank.
“What in God’s name is going on over there?” he asked in a wheezing voice.
“Nothing, Mr. Mayer, I’m so sorry.”
I pulled Kaidan inside and closed the door.
“What are you doing here?!” I asked.
His eyes flickered toward our hall, where Patti now stood, holding her robe closed and taking in the scene. I turned back to Kaidan, panic building inside of me.
“They could come back any second and see us together and tell your father! Go home!”
He stood in defiance, but as he glanced at Kopano his facade cracked, revealing a desolate expression that broke my heart.
“Yes, I’ll go,” Kaidan said. “You’ve got help.”
I reached for his arm as he turned, but he slipped through my fingers and walked out.
I sat on the couch, burying my face in my hands. I hadn’t meant to make him think I was choosing Kopano over him. He had to know it wasn’t like that. I was scared for him.
And what in the world were they both doing here, anyway? Had they been somewhere nearby listening out for me all night?
“I will go to him,” Kopano said, leaving the apartment and closing the door. I pushed my hearing around to find them at the bottom of the stairs, just next to the sheet of rain falling from the roof like a waterfall. I focused hard, trying to ignore the spooky feeling that still held me.
Patti peeked around the corner and I waved her over, signaling that I was listening to something. She turned on a side lamp and sat down next to me, rubbing my chilled limbs to try to warm me.
“Let us go somewhere and talk,” Kopano said to Kaidan.
“We can talk here. She never uses her senses.”
Whoops. I was officially eavesdropping, but I didn’t feel guilty. I was too desperate for insight into Kaidan’s mind. They spoke in low tones, hard to hear with the rush of rainwater.
“Do not be upset, Kai. I feel only concern for her.”
“I’ll bet you do.”
Kaidan’s clipped, harsh response was in direct contrast to Kopano’s tranquil words.
“Even you are willing to risk yourself for her, brother.”
“That’s because I actually know her. What’s your reason? I suppose you’d like to get to know her, too?”
“You have made it very clear that she is not available in that way. Be reasonable. There is plainly more at stake here. I only wished to help.”
“There’s nothing you can do, Kope!”
They got quiet and I could hear Kaidan’s ragged breaths through his nose.
“Please trust me, brother,” Kopano said. “There is no stronger weapon for Pharzuph to use than your concern for each other. If he learns that you were here to console her, you will lose all leverage with him. Do not fool yourself into thinking he will not discard you.”
“Yes, some of us have to worry about such things. Thank you for the reminder.”
The sounds that came next iced my blood: heavy footfalls crashing into puddles, and the metallic zing of a switchblade. I stood up with a hand to my heart. Then there was a deep, gruff chuckle. My father’s.
“Put it away, boy. Sorry to break up the testosterone party.”
I jumped off the couch and ran from the apartment, down the cement stairs, until I nearly crashed into the three of them at the bottom. My father was absolutely soaked, beads of water covering his skull as he glowered at Kaidan.
“Dad!” I slapped a hand over my mouth. As he dragged his eyes from Kaidan to me, I experienced a punch of knowledge.
“It was you,” I said, heart pounding. “You sent them.”
He made no attempt to deny it.
I sagged back on my heels. The demons weren’t sent by someone who wanted to hurt me. It had been my father, showing some serious tough love.
A light sound of shuffling came from the landing. Patti surveyed us from the top of the steps in her robe and slippers.
“It’s okay,” I assured her. “I’ll be in soon.” She nodded, staring hard at my dad for a second before she went back up. He turned his attention back to Kopano and Kaidan, who kept their eyes trained at his feet.
“This little thing”—he made a triangle in the air, pointing between Kopano, Kaidan, and me—“isn’t gonna fly. Don’t worry yourselves about Anna anymore. You hear?” They both gave single nods. “Then get on out of here. And keep your heads in the game.”
There was only the sound of rain now, then their cars starting and tires sloshing away too fast. Before my father could apologize or give me another sad look, I wrapped my arms around him. He let out a deep breath.
“Will you come in?” I asked, against his chest.
“I’d better not, after that look from Patti.” He ran a hand down my hair. “Does she know about those two boys fighting over you?”
“They weren’t fighting over me. And she cares about Kaidan.”
“Hmph. Well, I’ll be here at three o’clock this afternoon. Warn Patti, ’cause I’ll need to come in and talk to you both first. Now go get some shut-eye. You’re gonna need it. And don’t worry. No more spirits will bother you tonight.”
A giant bolt of lightning lit up the night sky. My father kissed the top of my head and disappeared into the rain as a roar of thunder shook the foundation under my feet.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
GIVE A LITTLE WHISTLE
My dad was going to be here any minute, and Patti was a nervous wreck. Disobedient red curls had popped out of her hair clip and now framed her sleep-deprived face. She’d spent the morning deep-cleaning the apartment with a frown, shooing me away when I tried to help.
I hadn’t been able to go back to sleep right away the night before. Patti sat with me in our living room, and I realized that after I found out what I was, I had become the one withholding information to protect her. Now I finally broke down and told her everything I’d been holding back. She’d understood that the Neph were seen as property, but she hadn’t known about us being forced to work, or the fact that we had “specialties.” She stared heavenward and shook her head after finding out she’d sent me on a long-distance trip with the son of Lust.
But the detail that sent her over the edge was the fact that my father had me haunted by those demons. No matter how much I tried to explain that it was necessary for me to be able to see the spirits, she was livid. When three o’clock approached and her mood hadn’t lightened, I started to worry.
When my dad arrived, Patti stood by the counter with her arms crossed. He appeared as large and frightening as ever. The kind of man nobody would dare to mess with.
Patti walked right up and smacked him across
the face.
I jolted. He blinked. She stayed right in front of him and stabbed a finger at his chest, her other hand on her hip.
“How dare you do that to her? I don’t care what your reasons were. Did you hear her screaming? She was terrified! Don’t you ever sic those monsters on her again. Ever!”
He watched her with an even expression, allowing her to get it all out of her system. Her pointing hand went on her other hip and she stared up at him, breathing hard. She wore the steel gray of fury.
“I swear to you,” my father said with care, “I will spend the rest of Anna’s life trying to keep those spirits away from her.”
“Then why does she have to train with you today? If you’re going to protect her, then why is it necessary? Why can’t you keep her out of danger?” Patti’s voice cracked and she brought a hand up to clutch her mouth as fury turned to rolling fear. My father watched her, and when he spoke he shocked us both with what he said.
“You remind me so much of Mariantha. Not the way you look, but the way your soul feels to me. Loving, but full of that same righteous stubbornness. Yeah, Mariantha would approve, and so do I. You’ve done a good job. More than good. And I want to thank you.”
A sob escaped through Patti’s hand. He’d hit her soft spot. Not only did he compliment her mothering, but he’d compared her to an angel.
“But I failed her,” Patti said, her freckled face streaked with tears. “I didn’t get her to Sister Ruth in time.”
“Let go of that guilt; it’s all part of the plan.”
“What if I messed up the plan?”
He broke into a knowing grin.
“The plan’s always changing and rearranging. You can’t mess it up.”
She wiped her face, and the darkness of fear faded. I still hadn’t moved. I was trying to wrap my mind around the fact that Patti had gone from wanting to kill him to being comforted by him.
“Would you like some sweet tea?” she asked. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Patti Whitt.
“Yes, ma’am, I’d appreciate it.” And my father, the fear-provoking gentleman.
As she went to the kitchen, he gave my shoulder a hard pat. I shook my head in wonder. We went over and sat down at the small table.
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