She held on tightly. “I know. I saw Keith bash him on the head as he was coming out of the bathroom. That’s why I came to find you?”
“What? Oh, God. I have to get home.”
I bypassed the coatroom and burst outside. Snow whirled wildly around me. My dress whipped against my skin. The storm had worsened. I couldn’t make out the end of the driveway.
The same valet who had parked our car approached me. He wore a thick-hooded parka to keep himself safe from the cold. “Ma’am, what are you doing out here without a coat? You’ll freeze!”
“I need my keys,” I barked. “Now!”
He opened the case that held all the keys and quickly located mine. I snatched it out of his grasp and made a run for the car. Halfway there, I realized Bubbles was still attached to me.
“Go back inside,” I ordered her. I turned her by the shoulders to face the door, but she stubbornly pivoted back around. “Keith’s dangerous. He might hurt Simon.”
“I’m not letting you go alone,” she said.
“Bubbles, you don’t understand what’s happening.”
“It’s something to do with my dad,” she guessed. “Isn’t it?”
My hesitation served as an answer.
“I knew it,” Bubbles said. “Let me come with you. I can help.”
“No, you can’t,” I told her firmly. “This is for the adults to handle. You’ll be safer here.”
“You said I was as strong as the Queen!”
“For a kid!” I shot back.
Her bottom lip wobbled, and her eyes filled with tears. My panic was coloring my tone and affecting Bubbles. I took her hands in mine. We both shivered. The cold was no joke.
“If anything happened to you, I would never forgive myself,” I said to her. “I’ve already lost enough people in my life. I need you to stay where it’s safe. Do you understand?”
Bubbles nodded and wiped her eyes on the hem of her dress. “Are you going to be okay?”
“I’ll figure it out.”
The valet shuffled over. “Miss, I really don’t think you should be driving in this weather. The roads are blocked already. I called a snowplow so people can get home from the party tonight, but until it gets here, you should stay inside—”
“It’s an emergency,” I said. “I’ll be fine.”
I got into the car, switched on the ignition, and turned on the heat. The valet shrugged and returned to his place by an electric warmer. I backed out of the spot.
A loud slam sounded. The car thumped. I hit the brakes.
I rolled down the window and stuck out my head. “Did I just hit something?” I yelled to the valet.
He was already distracted by his phone, but he got up to check around my tires. “I don’t see anything,” he said. “You’re clear.”
Carefully, I let off the brake. The car rolled forward without issue. I released a sigh of relief and slowly made my way off Boyce’s property.
The snowstorm was the worst one I’d seen in Silver Creek. It didn’t come down in cute flurries. The flakes blew sideways, gathering on the windshield in huge piles no matter how fast the wiper blades flashed across the glass.
The tires slipped and slid over the fresh snow and the ice beneath it. I gripped the steering wheel so tightly that my knuckles ached. Boyce’s stupid street lamps didn’t help. Instead of illuminating the road, they backlit the snow, causing a glare that was nearly impossible to see through.
When I made it to the main road, the conditions weren’t much better. The car’s back end slid out when I pulled out of the woods. I whipped the steering wheel in the opposite direction to get the vehicle back on track. After a scary moment, during which I had no control over the car, the tires found traction again.
The closer I got to the Lodge, the more I felt the pull bringing me home. It was as if the land’s energy wrapped tendrils around my every limb and wrenched me toward it. My whole body shook. How much of a head start had Keith gotten with Simon?
I pressed harder on the gas, and the tires spun on a patch of ice, sending the car into another miniature tailspin. My heart pounded as I coasted off the road, doing my best to keep the vehicle moving in as straight a path as possible. Once more, I regained control and pulled back onto the road. Fortunately, no one was on the road. Everyone was at Boyce’s dumb party. I wondered who had bid the highest on the trip to the Bahamas. Anything was better than thinking about what was happening to Simon right now.
The snow was so thick that I almost missed the turn to the Lodge. I pumped the brakes and steered up the winding road. The trees kept most of the snow off the dirt road, so I picked up my speed. At the second to last corner, where the bent tree marked the place of Lily’s almost death, I realized too late that I was driving too fast.
I stomped on the brakes and jerked the wheel to the right, careening toward the sharp bend in the road. It wasn’t enough. The car spun, and the wheels locked. I screamed as I skidded off the road.
Crash!
The car slammed into a thick tree trunk. The driver’s side door crumped. The seatbelt cut into my neck as the impact slammed me against the ruined door. A sickening crack split the air as my wrist smashed against the dashboard. The side airbag exploded, then the front one followed.
The car settled. Shattered glass from the driver’s side window tinkled against the asphalt outside. Smoke hissed from under the hood. The airbags deflated, leaking fluid across the seat. I sat, stunned, as my body settled like the car. I performed a mental checklist.
My head was clear. That was good. Head injuries meant trouble. My left side ached, but I hoped it was just bruised. If I had internal injuries, I wouldn’t know until I started vomiting blood, by which time, it would be too late.
My wrist, unfortunately, was ruined. It hung at a disgusting angle from my arm. The bones didn’t line up normally at all. On the upside, all the adrenaline running through me meant I couldn’t feel much pain.
The smell of gas permeated the car. Not good. With a groan, I hauled myself across the center console and kicked open the functioning door. I rolled out of the car and collapsed in the snow. As I caught my breath, the trunk sprang open, and someone climbed out.
“Are you kidding me?” I gasped as Bubbles stumbled toward me. “What are you doing here?”
“I hopped into your trunk before the valet could see.” She fell into the snow next to me. A trail of blood leaked from an unseen gash near her scalp. “I didn’t think you’d be driving like a maniac.”
“Damn it, Bubbles. Let me see your head.”
She leaned forward, and I pushed her hair aside to look at the wound. In the pale light of the moon filtering through the trees, I could hardly see.
“It’s not bad,” I said. “It’s just a shallow cut. You won’t need stitches or anything, but I’m still getting you to the hospital in case you have some injury I can’t see.”
Black smoke billowed from beneath the hood of the car. I tugged Bubbles to her feet with my good hand and forced her up the road.
“We have to get away from the car,” I said, keeping her in front of me. “There’s a gas leak.”
My head swam as I pushed Bubbles up the incline. All I could think about was getting to Simon, but as the cold pressed against us, my body began to fight against me.
“Are you okay?” Bubbles asked.
“Sure, kid.”
I wasn’t. I shivered violently, unable to regulate my internal temperature without a coat to keep me warm. As the shock wore off, the pain set in. I noticed chemical burns on my arms where the liquid from the airbags had gotten on me. Each time I took a breath in, a sharp pain shot through my left side, no doubt a sign of one or more broken ribs. My wrist was numb, and I worried that the nerves had been severed. If that were the case, I might never be able to draw again.
Bubbles acted as my willpower. Whenever I wanted to give up, sit down, and let the snow cover me until I disappeared, she spoke up. She pushed me forward.
“On
e more step,” she’d say. “Just take one more step. I can almost see the Lodge.”
The acrid stench of smoke followed us. As we cleared the last bend in the road, a huge explosion echoed behind us. Fire billowed into the sky. The gas leak caught. The heat of it wafted through the trees, warming our backs. I was oddly grateful for the raging flames.
Bubbles trembled in fear as she looked back. Her eyes reflected the spreading flames. I turned her around and clutched her tightly to my side.
“One more step,” I muttered. “I can almost see the Lodge.”
This time, it wasn’t a lie to make the walk less painful. As we neared the end of the dirt road, the Lodge finally came into view. As I stepped over the property line, a huge jolt of energy coursed through me. My head cleared, my skin warmed, and my wrist stopped throbbing.
Lily appeared at my side. Bubbles screamed.
“It’s okay!” I told Bubbles. “She’s a friend.”
“She’s dead!” Bubbles yelled.
“She’s quick,” Lily added. She knelt to look Bubbles in the eye. “I may be dead, but you don’t need to fear me.”
Though tremors rocked Bubbles’s body, she nodded her assent. Lily rose to her feet.
“You need to come inside,” Lily said. “Keith’s here with Simon. He’s setting up the ritual so Boyce can complete it as soon as he arrives. We’re doing what we can to stop him, but it’s not enough. The land’s energy is hiding. It knows Boyce is coming.”
“Is Simon okay?” I asked, shuffling along beside Lily.
“He’s hurt,” Lily answered. “He has a huge lump on his head, which could be dangerous, considering he’s still recovering from his last concussion.”
“Damn it. Where is he?”
“Keith’s got him tied up in the kitchen.”
“I’m gonna kill him,” I muttered for the second time that night.
With Bubbles and Lily flanking me, I punched through the front door of the Lodge. As I stepped inside, another jolt of energy washed over me. The power of the ley lines wasn’t hiding underground; it was hiding in me. With each passing second, I felt stronger and stronger.
Bubbles gasped and pointed down. “Ew!”
I looked at my wrist. The bones appeared to be mending themselves. They moved beneath the skin, twisting and turning until they landed in the right places. It hurt, but not as bad as it should have. When the bones stilled, I experimentally made a fist and flexed my wrist.
“It’s fixed,” I said incredulously.
“Not my head,” Bubbles said, feeling for the cut near her scalp. Her fingers came away bloody. “It’s only happening to you.”
“The land trusts Max,” Lily said. “It’s chosen you. We all have.”
When I looked up, the room was full of ghosts. Many of them I’d never met before, but I recognized Christine, Walter, and Earl, who all stood at the forefront of the group. The others crowded behind them, their faces set in determination. They were ready for all of this to be over.
“I’ll do whatever I can to make this up to you,” I promised them. “If you stand behind me, I’ll make sure no one ever takes advantage of the power on this land again. I will free you all from whatever bonds are keeping you here.”
There were no cheers like when Boyce introduced himself at his own party. Instead, the ghosts gave me their best looks of grim satisfaction.
“We’re here for you,” Earl said. “Get rid of that bastard, once and for all.”
“I’ll do my best.” I planted Bubbles on the couch. “Stay here.”
I left the ghosts to formulate a plan and rushed into the kitchen. Simon was tied to an aluminum folding chair with the rope we used to secure loads to Keith’s pickup truck. Plastic zip ties cut red lines around his wrists. His head lolled limply on his neck. A bulbous lump on his forehead had already begun to bruise. His eyelids fluttered. He was awake, but barely.
“Simon!” I rushed to his side and gently moved his head in a more comfortable position. “Baby, it’s me. I’m here.”
He groaned. “Max?”
“Shh, everything’s going to be all right.”
I grabbed a pair of kitchen scissors from the drawer and cut the zip ties around his wrists. When it came to the ropes, the scissors proved useless. I fought to untangle Simon from the chair, but Keith’s knots were impossible to pull free.
A gun cocked. I froze.
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you.”
Keith stood in the doorway between the kitchen and the lobby. He pointed a loaded shotgun at my head.
I raised my hands and slowly got to my feet. “Keith, you don’t know what you’re doing. You’re making a mistake.”
“I know exactly what I’m doing,” he replied. “I’m earning my spot in the Gentlemen’s Club. After Boyce’s ritual, I’m going to be rich. I’ll be able to buy my mom a nice big house, one that isn’t tainted with the memories of my father.”
“Were you planning this all along?” I asked him. The more he talked, the less likely he’d be to shoot. “Ever since we asked you to work for us?”
“Not at the beginning,” he replied. “I needed work, and renovating the Lodge was a good opportunity, especially since you two were willing to pay me in cash. I’ve been trying to get in with the Gentlemen’s Club for years, but Boyce never paid me a lick of attention. When he learned I was working for you, I finally had something to give him.”
“You said you’d spy on us in return for a spot in the club.”
“It’s not personal,” he assured me. He adjusted his boots against the new flooring to get better leverage. “I don’t think you and Simon are bad people. You don’t deserve any of this, but when it comes down to it, I have to look out for my mother and myself.”
“And you think being one of Boyce’s sycophants is going to help your family?” I asked. “Boyce doesn’t care about you, Keith. You said it yourself.”
Keith’s eyes flickered nervously. “The guys in the club have everything they want, and they get it from Boyce.”
“Boyce isn’t sharing half of the money he’s made in the last decade. Look at the house he lives in.” I stepped closer to Keith, putting myself between the muzzle of the gun and Simon’s chest. “He used you, Keith. He only needed you to get inside the Lodge. He won’t honor your agreement afterward.”
“You’re wrong,” Keith said. “He promised me.”
“Do you know what this ritual of his does?” I asked. “Do you know about the ley lines?”
He nodded confidently. “Boyce told me everything.”
“Everything?” I repeated. “Did he tell you the energy below us will be ruined for another ten years if he completes the ritual? Or that he killed Lily and used her blood to anoint his followers? Is that what you want to do, Keith? Wear my blood in exchange for your success? What would your mother think of that?”
Keith frantically shook his head. The mouth of the shotgun jiggled. “You’re wrong. Boyce isn’t a killer. He’d be in prison if he were.”
“He murderer Lily,” I said. “And he plans to kill me tonight.”
“No,” Keith said. “Lily’s alive. I saw her the other day.”
Lily popped into existence right beside Keith. “Guess again, bozo.”
Keith yelped, and my nerves skyrocketed as the shotgun aimed wildly around the room. “Jesus! How did you do that?”
Lily disappeared and reappeared in front of Keith’s gun. She stuck a finger in each of the barrels. “I’m dead. That’s why I’m not afraid of your silly weapon.”
“This is crazy,” Keith said, the whites of eyes showing as Lily vanished once more. “We’re not supposed to kill anyone. He said to capture one of you and bring you back here. He needs an owner of the land to complete the ritual.”
“He needs someone connected to the energy here,” I corrected. “Someone with a strong bond to the land. What did you think a sacrifice meant, Keith?”
His face turned red as he sputtered. “I don’t kno
w! I thought it was metaphorical. I’m not here to kill anyone!”
Swiftly, I stepped forward, grabbed the barrel of the shotgun, and wrenched the whole thing out of his grasp. He didn’t fight me. As soon as the gun left his hands, he sank into the chair next to Simon’s and covered his face with his hands.
“I’m so stupid,” he muttered. “I should have known better. I should have listened to Mom.”
I emptied the rounds from the shotgun and set them on the table next to Keith. “It’s not entirely your fault. Boyce is an annoyingly good manipulator.”
Keith looked up at me with red eyes. “You don’t hate me?”
“That depends on whether Simon recovers from whatever you bashed against his head,” I said. “And on how you choose to act for the remainder of the evening.”
Keith had enough decency to look properly ashamed as he examined Simon’s wound. “It was a vase. I think he’ll be okay. I didn’t hit him that hard.”
Simon stirred as if he sensed we were talking about him. My heart stopped as he slowly lifted his hand… and smacked Keith across the face.
“Stupid,” Simon said weakly. “Stupid, stupid, stupid.”
Keith’s embarrassed blush renewed itself. “I know. I’m sorry. I had no idea he was planning to kill one of you! I’m not a murderer! I don’t want to spend my life in jail.”
“You could still benefit from the power of the ley lines,” I said. “If you work with us.”
“It doesn’t matter anymore,” Keith said, clutching his hair and pulling it away from his scalp. “I don’t deserve it. I’m surprised you haven’t shot me already.”
“We’re not like Boyce,” I informed him. “We aren’t killers. Besides, it’s easy to play the bad guy when you think you’re getting something out of it.”
Keith’s eyes glistened. “I don’t want to be a part of a group that hurts people to get ahead.”
“I wish you’d decided that an hour ago,” Simon muttered. “Before you broke a vase over my head.”
“I’m sorry,” Keith said again. “I’ll do whatever you want me to. I won’t participate in Boyce’s crazy ritual.”
The Haunting of Silver Creek Lodge Page 21
