As the snake thrust toward the bird she screamed, "No!" and grabbed hold of the owl as it passed within inches over her head. She clutched its neck as it turned sharply to avoid the snake's strike, and then she scrambled onto the bird's back.
They flew toward the mouth of the tunnel, the owl's wings rising and falling. In the swirling smoke she gaped at the nightmare figure arched over them. The snake's mouth was open in threat, venom dripping from its fangs. She held tightly to the bird and pointed the owl claw out before her. In her mind the mantra was spoken, all the chants joining in one powerful voice.
Keep us clear of heart and goal.
Guard us as our home we free.
Lend us power to end attack,
As we ask so mote it be.
Light flashed toward the creature, again striking its wounded chest. Throw the talisman, said the delicate voice she'd felt before.
Eve braced herself, holding to the owl's neck with one arm. She flung out her left hand with all her might, scarcely aiming, feeling the skin rip from her palm as the stone flew true, into the pulsing fire at the heart of the serpent.
With a clap of thunder the ceiling fell in. The confusion of smoke and dust behind them, she leaned against soft feathers, felt muscles flexing, and heard a swooshing of air. They were moving up and out into the light.
They soared into the air over Wisdom Court and Eve looked down. Strands of glowing light linked the holders of the directions, forming a barricade around the entire site.
She leaned her head on the owl as they circled above the house and down to the ground.
Epilogue
When she became aware, Eve was lying on the ground and Rose was struggling to wrap a blanket around her. Above her the skies were darkening from gray to black clouds.
"Is it supposed to rain?" she asked.
"By the Goddess, you're all right!" Aura Lee thrust Rose out of the way and fell to her knees beside Eve. "You darling girl," she babbled, "we thought you were dead." Her frightened blue eyes were glassy with tears. "You weren't breathing and that man wouldn't let us check how you were."
"What?" Eve looked around, blinking to clear her vision. "Where'd he go?"
"Calm down, Aura Lee." Neal took her by the hand and helped her to her feet. "Let's get inside before this storm cuts loose. We can clear up everything then."
"If you'll allow me to assist you?" A man was standing nearby, dressed in what appeared to be black livery with silver tubing along his lapels. His curly hair was auburn and his blue eyes were amused. His smile was mischievous as he offered her his arm. "We haven't officially met, but I assure you, we do know each other." He had a lovely English accent.
Eve smiled back as she set her arm on his. "I appreciate the assist." Her limp was even worse than before.
The scent of garlic and sausage hit her as they came through the kitchen door. "I'm starving."
Rose was at her side. "Eve, let me escort you to the powder room while Aura Lee fixes you a plate. We're having pizza."
Eve followed Rose and was grateful when she saw herself in the mirror. Her hair was wild and her face was covered with soot and sweat. "What a mess."
Rose surprised her with a swift hug. "You saved the day, my dear. You could be wearing a clown suit and stilettos and no one would mind."
Eve felt heat rising in her cheeks. "We all saved the day. That was the whole point."
When Eve had finished washing her face, she heard a scratching sound. "Oh, no," she whispered. Hand shaking, she reached for the doorknob and yanked open the door. Danica looked up at her and meowed in complaint. Eve bent to pick up the cat, receiving a lavish lick on one eyebrow for her efforts.
A few minutes later Eve carried Danica into the living room and set her on the floor. The Englishman waited politely and handed her a glass. "Thanks," she murmured. She examined him carefully, smiling at the energy he exuded. "You're Charlie, aren't you?"
"I am." He sketched a bow. "And you are Evie."
"Nobody calls me Evie anymore."
"I do."
She lifted her hand and he drew in a breath, taking hold of it. "Your palm, it's burned."
"It doesn't hurt." She touched his shoulder. "Thank you for what you did. You got me out of there just in time."
"You blasted that abomination first. I think we're even." They studied each other's faces until he bent to kiss her cheek.
Kerry slid her arm around Eve's shoulder. "Come and sit down, you two. Your plates on the table."
By the time Eve had eaten two pieces of pizza, she was on her way to feeling normal. She described the standoff in the secret room, and Charlie recounted what had begun in England.
"Severn Barlow claimed to be the seventh son of a seventh son," he said matter-of-factly. "The man he thought was his father was actually his brother, giving Severn the honor. The old earl was the Nazi sympathizer and most likely killed his son Duncan. Severn cut his teeth on the legend of the stolen talisman and the missing bearer bonds. He was insanely interested in the occult and was behind the efforts to breach the walls of Wisdom Court in order to find both."
"Charlie was sent under cover as a servant about a year ago to keep an eye on him," added Max. "He was dangerously unstable, and while the local police couldn't prove anything, bodies were found fairly regularly near the estate. It's all still being investigated. When he wasn't honing in on you, Eve, he was quite the serial killer."
Eve took a swallow of the wine given to her. "But why did he focus on me? How was he able to create the odd sightings and send such blood-curdling messages?"
"My theory is he picked up on the connection between you and me." Charlie took her empty plate and set it on the coffee table. "Every time you and I communicated his pyrotechnics grew stronger. And the lot of you incited many of the various messages. This place is still crawling with spirits, many of them from long ago."
"What happened today... the giant snake. That was this Severn's doing?" Eve shivered at the memory.
"He was ahead of us at the Paranormal Society when it came to remote viewing," said Max. "Where he truly excelled was in discovering ways to transpose himself into other creatures."
Eve's eyes widened in shock. "He was the snake?"
"He was." Charlie lifted her hand to his lips. "And when you threw the talisman into that hole in his snaky chest, you put an end to him."
"You mean I killed him?"
Charlie put his hand over hers. "You did. Thank you."
"How did you transform yourself into the owl?"
Charlie leaned back to rest his head against the sofa. "We'll have to know each other much better for me to tell you that."
Eve sipped at her wine and was content to just sit.
Brenna and Dink hurried in from the kitchen, she with her Kindle in hand. "Wait till you hear this! There's a report from England about an old manor in Surrey imploding today. The owner, Severn Barlow, was killed when the old place just fell in on itself. It's been in the news anyway because of a police investigation. They even mentioned stuff about the noble family who established it being pro-Nazi during the war."
Aura Lee clapped both hands over her mouth and looked at them with wide eyes. Rose sagged in her chair. "Does this mean the whole thing could be over?"
Max frowned. "I doubt the ghosts will be going anywhere, but it seems the persecution from the nasty neo-Nazi buggers might have come to an end."
Laughter bounced off the walls. Rose's eyes filmed with tears. "All of you have made it possible for Wisdom Court to continue. Cottie's dream will enrich the dreams of others thanks to you."
Noreen stood up, a little tipsy from wine. "I want to make an announcement and a toast. At the end of my tenure here, which happens next month, I'll be moving into the house I've bought two blocks down the hill." As Kerry jumped up to envelop her in a hug, she added, "I have no family but this one, and I want to stay near it. And my toast," she added, "is to Caldicott Wyntham." She lifted her glass to the portrait above the fireplac
e where Caldicott looked on her creation. "With gratitude for the chances you've given us, with love for the spirit of the place which nurtures us all."
"To Caldicott!" Neal said deeply and they raised their glasses. As they drank, they heard a crashing sound.
Aura Lee hurried to the kitchen, but was back in a moment. "The door to my room is open. Will one of you come with me?"
Andrea and Neal followed her and the others looked at each other. "I'm stayin' right here," Elizabeth said firmly, rubbing Strudel's belly. "No more hauntings today for me."
"Might it be ghosts?" Charlie asked Eve with some excitement. "May we see, too?"
Eve set down her glass and stood up. "Let's go."
Max and Kerry followed them into Aura Lee's tiny living room, where Andrea and Neal were searching for any disruption. Aura Lee cocked her head at an odd humming sound.
"It's coming from my bedroom."
They trailed behind her, catching sight of the mirror over her dresser. The frame was glowing around the edges, but the mirror was black as onyx. The low humming was growing in volume.
As they watched, a light began to coalesce at the center of the glass, and the features of a woman with chestnut hair formed. At her side the image of a tall black-haired man took shape, one of his hands on her shoulder. He looked into her smiling face, love shining from his deep brown eyes.
Kerry reached blindly for Max's hand.
"It's Cottie," gulped Aura Lee. "When she was young."
"Do you think that's Duncan?" Rose asked, voice trembling.
"I think it has to be." Aura Lee was crying softly. "She's telling us they've found each other again."
The images in the mirror brightened and then were gone.
As the glass went dark, they heard a gossamer whisper fill the room.
Thank you.
The End
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Want more from Yvonne Montgomery?
Here's an excerpt from
SCAVENGER HUNT
A Finny Aletter Mystery
Book One
~
Finny's little car eased around the sign and went to the end of the pavement. The tires bumped over the washboard dirt road that petered out beside railroad tracks, where gravel and dirt were piled in mounds about ten feet high. Finny braked in front of two traffic barriers. Their orange blinking lights made the mounds look as though they were moving.
Leila opened the passenger door and shifted her bulk out of the car.
"Wait a minute." Finny was regretting going along with this. "I don't think we ought to get out. You had that medicine and all—" The door slammed on her words.
Finny stuffed her handbag under the driver's seat and turned off the headlights. As she left the car, the cold wind eddied, flinging the resurgent snow at her. She took a quick look at the huge old bridge looming overhead, and snow fell between her neck and the collar of her shirt.
The bridge stretched across the shadowed railroad yards and the attendant buildings strung throughout the lowlands near the South Platte River. The lonely light at the end of the pavement lit one tower support soaring into the shadows above her like the leg of a concrete Colossus.
Leila was halfway to the darkness under the bridge. Finny started after her, then darted back to the car. She'd just as soon bed down in a haunted house as wander around under that bridge without a flashlight. As the door swung open, she thought she heard something behind her. She whirled around, heart pounding, and peered into darkness moving with the throb of the warning lights.
She waited for a moment, listening, then reached inside for her flashlight. It was just her nerves. This little adventure was on a par with going through a graveyard on Halloween night. She slammed the door shut and hurried to catch up with Leila, her breath clouding the chill air.
Their footsteps crunched in the gravel under the unused bridge.
"It's around here someplace," Leila said suddenly.
Finny looked quickly around her, fighting back the impulse to hush her. She felt they should be very quiet.
Finny was shivering with more than the cold. It was so unearthly isolated here. The distant sounds of traffic were the only reminders of the city around this spot.
The ground was uneven in the elongated circle cast by the flashlight as they passed into the gloom under the bridge. Finny tripped and fell to her hands and knees. The flashlight landed beside her, shining at nothing. The stinging of her palms triggered a brief flash of childhood, of falls from roller skates and bicycles, when scraped skin was the only failure known. She got up and, without thinking, spat on her palms and blew again the hurt.
Behind her was the sound of shifting gravel.
"Did you hear that?" There was no answer. Finny turned and saw Leila at least ten yards away, near more mounds of gravel.
Finny scooped up the flashlight and swung it around in a circle, holding it at the end of her straightened arm like a weapon. There was nothing to see but the dirt road and the piles of broken rock.
Finny's hand crept over her heart. It was leaping like Baryshnikov in a solo. She took a deep breath and turned on her heel to stride over the rough ground to Leila. "We've got to leave." She tried to catch her breath. "We're not going to find anything in the dark."
Leila ignored her. Her pale skin was orange, then gray as the light from the traffic barrier blinked off and on. She was sidling around one of the bridge supports. She stroked the surface of the rough concrete with her fingers as if reading Braille.
Finny shone the light over the support. The hole in the concrete was the size of a saucer, with cracks radiating from its edges like the filaments of a spider's web.
A groan came from behind her.
~
To purchase
Scavenger Hunt
from your favorite eBook Retailer,
visit Yvonne Montgomery's eBook Discovery Author Page
www.ebookdiscovery.com/YvonneMontgomery
~
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Author's Note
Many thanks, dear readers, for your interest in Wisdom Court. To keep in touch with the characters living there, please contact me at the following links:
Website/blog: www.yvonnemontgomery.com
Facebook author page: www.facebook.com/ayvonnemontgomery
Twitter feed is www.twitter.com/authorYvonneM
Yvonne Montgomery became afraid of the dark, after her parents allowed her to see Psycho at the tender age of twelve.
Now Yvonne lives in a shadowy three-story Victorian house in Denver’s historic Capitol Hill where her imagination rises to the challenge when the old floor-boards creak for no reason and the window panes rattle without wind.
All in Bad Time Page 25
