She slumped back, avoiding my eyes. “Maybe you’re just too quick.”
“No, I specifically took my time today.” Was she hiding something? I hated to be suspicious of her again, but why did she refuse to look me in the eye?
“Well, maybe you’re just a hog!”
“Ebony, there’s no need to get defensive. I know you have the talent or you wouldn’t have gotten your permit from the Council. I just want to help. Do you think there’s something affecting you, blocking your access?”
“How?”
“I don’t know, something stifling your ability to connect. A new charm, a crystal, some sort of amulet? There has to be something holding you back from your ability and we need to find it. You’re still young, but if you don’t enhance the talent soon, you could lose it and be stumped as just another person able to feel a ghostly presence nearby.” Maybe scaring her would do the trick. Although, for someone who wished she wasn’t burdened with being able to sense spooks, she might see this as a way out.
Tears shimmered in her eyes when she looked up. I hated to scare or upset her, but if we didn’t hone her skill now, it could be lost forever. And sure, some of the blame and responsibility was mine for keeping her on the sidelines, but she was wrong about one thing. I never hogged the limelight or held her back. I just wanted to keep her out of danger. Not every ghost was a harmless, confused teenager. Some were downright dirty, ruthless evil spirits with the intention to hurt.
I just wanted to protect her.
Most of the gifted didn’t stumble into things like I did. I’d had my dead grandmother show me the ropes from childhood. She taught me so much that by my early teens I was able to cross over the invisible barrier with hardly a thought. Obviously, Ebony wasn’t like that.
I’ve known enough people who either ignored or lost their talent and never felt the same again. It was too traumatic to even think about.
“Well?” I pushed. “Can you think of anything?”
The tears slid down her cheeks.
“Ebony, don’t get upset…”
She held out her palm and said, “This is the only new thing I’ve been wearing the last few weeks. I’ve been holding it in my pocket since he gave it to me.” Ebony released a shaky breath.
I stared at the round, flat amulet sitting in the middle of her palm. It looked harmless enough, though I couldn’t stifle a shiver. “Who’s he? Who gave you this?”
She wiped away the tears and blew her nose.
“Ebony, tell me who he is, and what this is supposed to be,” I repeated, wanting to reach out to touch the amulet but afraid at the same time. Something bittersweet emanated from it.
“My new boyfriend gave me this amulet,” she finally replied.
I nodded slowly, trying to keep the warring questions from causing a reaction. Why the hell would a guy give someone such an ugly thing? Even without touching it, I could feel there was something not right about it. How could a simple, leather amulet of an eye and some squiggly lines make me so nervous?
Without looking at it directly, I grabbed a few paper napkins and held them out between us. “Give it to me. I don’t want you wearing or carrying this thing until we find out what it is, okay?”
She dropped it into my hand. I wrapped the ugly thing up, almost afraid to have it anywhere near me.
Whatever the thing was, negative energy continued to leak from it until I’d enclosed it into a tight ball of napkins.
Chapter Thirteen
“Are you sure you’re up for this tonight?” I asked, hesitating in front of the tall gates protecting the Hocking property.
Ebony nodded and whispered, “I’ll be all right.”
“Are you sure?” She hadn’t been her usual loudmouthed, bubbly self since our conversation at lunchtime. “Did you deliver the canisters before the cutoff?”
She nodded. “Jackie says hi.”
I rolled my eyes. I tried to avoid the Spook Catcher Council offices as much as I could, and the receptionist, Jackie, was one of the reasons. Though sooner or later, I knew I’d have to venture back in there. Later suited me fine.
“Where is the amulet now?” she asked.
“I’ve left it in the glove compartment. Certainly didn’t want to risk having it on me just in case.” The thing gave me the creeps and I was determined to stay as far away from it as I could. I was already procrastinating about who to grill for information about it.
I just hoped it didn’t suck the battery dry or affect my car in any way. There was definitely something awful flowing through that thing, some sort of magical current I didn’t recognize. But then, I wasn’t a witch, was I? A witch would know a whole lot more about it than I would. Oren! Maybe I could ask him? Nah, I wasn’t going to ask him for any favors. But what if this thing was essentially connected to Ebony’s failure to cross over? Maybe it was worth swallowing my pride if I couldn’t figure it out any other way.
In the meantime, maybe I could show it to Lavie and browse through some of Jonathan’s older books. He had a personal collection stashed in his office at the bookstore. If everything else failed, there was always the Internet.
The last thing I wanted to do was speak to that pink-eyed old witch.
“Where is the demon girl, anyway?” Ebony asked checking her watch. “You said eight, right? It’s five past.”
“Don’t worry, she’ll be here.”
I turned to look at the large house protected by tall iron gates. A large front yard opened up to face the street, with carefully manicured lawns and perfectly placed hedges. Just enough to keep most of the house concealed from prying eyes. The house itself was a huge, two-story, Victorian-style painted in olive-green, with two chimneys. The roof tiles were a dark red that matched the bulky wooden front door. Complementing glass-stained panels mirrored on either side of the door at the end of the concrete path.
Two huge parallel windows on the second story caused a shiver to race down my spine. I could feel a presence behind those windows and it made my skin crawl.
I was pretty sure we were safe outside, but what would happen once we entered past the gates and into the property? What had Roger Hocking introduced or summoned into this house? And how could Carleen live there when the sheer proximity was making my skin itch?
“I hope she gets here soon, before we start looking like stalkers,” Ebony said, tapping her foot. “This doesn’t look like the type of neighborhood where they have people milling outside on the footpath.”
I had to agree with her and surveyed the street. No one seemed to be watching us, but twilight was settling over the street. Serene Hills East was the side of the neighborhood where the more expensive properties were situated. I wasn’t surprised to find Carleen and her husband had lived here together.
“Ebony, I know you’re not comfortable talking about that thing, but I need to know how you met this boyfriend of yours.”
She shrugged. “We’ve gone out on a few dates. Well, we’ve been, ah—”
“I get the picture, but why would he give you something so ugly?” I hadn’t pushed her at the diner, deciding it was best to give her a little space. Besides, my one objective then had been to separate her from the amulet. Now I needed a little more information.
“He said it was a lucky charm.”
“It doesn’t feel lucky to me.”
“I thought it was really nice of him to give me a gift. I don’t usually hang out with guys long enough to get presents from them.” Ebony kicked a small stone. “I thought it was sweet.”
“Of course you did, Eb.”
I felt so callous, firing away questions when she was obviously upset, but I had to know. Ebony was young and mostly seemed to fling herself into physical situations with guys—something I knew all about from my past. It didn’t surprise me that the first one who’d stuck around longer than a one-night stand would soften her enough to accept an ugly amulet.
The thought made my heart skip. Papan. She’d actually slept with Papan. Was I
jealous, even though I’d been trying to convince myself that I was falling in love with Jonathan?
Luckily, I didn’t get the chance to ponder it because Lavie finally strolled down the street to meet us in front of the Hocking house.
“Oh, I’m so sorry. Am I late? I really should get myself a watch or something,” she called in a huff.
Lavie walked right past us and fumbled with the latch on the gate. She pushed inside and a huff of cold air played along my face. Her burgundy dress was wet along the hem and her hair was a frizzy mess.
“What the hell happened to you?” Ebony asked, staring at her open-mouthed.
Lavie continued down the path. “Don’t worry about it. I think it’s better if you don’t know. I’ve been walking in the shallow end of the sewers for several hours.”
Ebony took a step back, making a face. “Are you serious?”
“Unfortunately, yes, but don’t worry—I had a chance to clean up a little on the way over. At least the sewerage stench is gone,” she called over her shoulder.
I wondered if Lavie cleansed herself with some sort of temporary spell. There was no way water, even with soap, could get rid of the smell of the sewerage system enough to keep wearing the dress.
“You’re a little weird, you know that?”
“Ebony!”
“Oh, don’t worry, Sierra. She doesn’t know the half of it, honestly,” Lavie said with a smile and a shake of her head as we followed close behind.
The click of the front door distracted me. Carleen Hocking stepped out of the house with a solemn look on her face. She was wearing a pale cream outfit consisting of a long-sleeved shirt and slacks. Her blonde hair was neatly held back in a low ponytail.
“I thought I heard someone out here.” She spoke softly, but I heard every word.
I looked back at the street. The usual activity of traffic and people continued on outside the gates but it all felt so far away. Actually, for the first time I noticed no one was walking on this side of the street. Almost as if others could subconsciously sense something awry and chose to stay as far as they could from these gates.
“Would you ladies like to come inside?” Carleen called.
I turned back and took my time up the steps. “Of course, thanks for having us over.” I extended my right hand.
She shook it and then looked past my shoulder.
“Oh, sorry, you remember Ebony from the other day and this is Lavie Grye. She’s going to help us with the demonic seed.”
A shine of hope lit up Carleen’s eyes as she smiled and nodded at Ebony, before shaking hands with the demon hunter. I wondered how long I’d be able to hide the fact from Ebony. She was already starting to suspect something wasn’t normal about Lavie. It would only be a matter of time before she confronted me about it. Or even went straight to the source.
“Nice to meet you,” Lavie said with a smile.
“Yes, it’s nice to meet you too.” Carleen motioned us inside. “Will you all come on in, please?”
As soon as I stepped onto the tiled floor, a chill slapped my face and almost stole my breath. It raced up my nose and down my throat, freezing my insides as I struggled to keep my breathing steady. It felt as if invisible fingers were squeezing my lungs.
“Sierra, what’s wrong?” Was that Ebony? It sounded like her but I couldn’t see her. I couldn’t see the house at all.
“You won’t find anything here,” a deep male voice yelled.
I looked up to find a very attractive black man standing at the top of the staircase to my right. He didn’t look ghostly, actually appeared as solid as a living person. He wore brown pants with a white shirt tucked into them and opened enough to reveal an impressive chest. A crooked smile played on his full lips and the shine of his bald head caught my attention.
“I need to help her…” I struggled to get the words out and instead shut my eyes and mind to everything. I took a shallow breath, preparing to cross over. I might never have met him, but I knew exactly who this was. The master of the house wasn’t happy with anyone delving into his secrets.
When I opened my eyes, everyone and everything had faded to black. I felt weightless, and he stood directly in front of me. There were no levels to keep us at a distance anymore. We were in the darkness again. Why did I keep slipping into this black place? It hadn’t happened at any of the catcher jobs earlier. Yet, here I was again.
“I want you to turn around and leave,” he said as he looked around. He seemed confused, probably didn’t know how we’d gotten there.
“Your wife deserves to get some answers, Roger.”
His brown eyes pierced into mine. “She needs to get on with her life, that’s what she needs to do.”
“Then why did you return to her as a ghost?”
Roger Hocking sighed. “I felt her pain. All I wanted was to relieve some of it. I took all that pain to the grave and I know she still suffers immensely from—”
“The thing trapped inside her body?”
Roger’s eyes narrowed. “That wasn’t my fault. I thought I could handle myself with what I’d summoned.”
“Well, you were wrong and you lied to her. She was never pregnant with a child, was she?” My accusation echoed in this vast nothingness surrounding us.
He shook his head. “I don’t know for certain, but you have to tell her to burn everything I ever collected.”
“Has this got anything to do with the Church of the Goddess?”
He looked away. “No, this is because of the worst mistake I ever made. And now she’s paying for it.”
“Where are you, Roger? She said she couldn’t feel you anymore.”
Those penetrating eyes returned to mine. “I didn’t leave. I’m still here, unable to produce enough strength to tie myself back to her. Why can you see me?”
“I’m a catcher.”
“You’re a spook catcher?”
I nodded.
“Then maybe you’ll be able to tell me why there’s an incredible pull trying to suck me in. I can feel something dark drawing closer and closer, and it wants to engulf me, but I can’t leave Carleen until all the evidence is gone.”
“What evidence?”
“That doesn’t matter,” he said. “Please help me speak to her one last time. Can you serve as a medium?”
I shook my head. “That’s not what I do. I’m a catcher, not a medium.”
He took a step forward, the desperation etched on his face. “Then please, find another way for me to contact her. It’s important that she knows…”
“Sierra.” The whisper raised every strand of my hair with the ferocity of a wild wind.
“Not yet,” I whispered back, recognizing Ebony’s voice. “I’m not ready to come back yet.”
Roger tried to grab my arm but his hand went right through me. “Make sure you try, please, Catcher. I have to talk to her, if only one more time!”
The darkness fell away like a curtain collapsing out of sight. I was back in the Hocking house foyer, except Roger Hocking was no longer at the top of the stairs.
A long ragged breath filled my lungs with a strong rush of oxygen. I almost fell over. Luckily, Ebony and Lavie were there to catch me before I splattered all over the shiny, cream-colored tiles. They were so glossy I could almost see my reflection in them.
“What’s happening to her?” Carleen asked, hands over her mouth in horror.
Most people couldn’t handle watching a catcher at work. It freaked them out to see me solidly standing there as still and hard as a statue, unmoved by any reaction or the world around them.
It was why I preferred to do it alone.
“Sierra, are you with us?” Ebony asked, putting a hand to my forehead. “She’s freezing,” she said to them. To me she asked, “Did you cross over?”
I steadied my breathing, allowing my chest to slow its intake of oxygen before I attempted to stand. Ebony and Lavie moved with me, helping me straighten while I tested my legs to make sure they could keep me
up.
“I’m back, no need to worry.” My answer sounded a little shaky, but Lavie’s hands fell away. Ebony kept one hand on my arm as I met Carleen’s blue gaze. How could she stay in this house with so many memories at every angle? “We need to see Roger’s belongings.”
She looked stunned for a second. “Roger. Yes, of course.”
“What happened to you this time?” Ebony asked, stepping in front of me.
“I saw him.”
Carleen paused on the bottom step in front of her. She stayed in that position for a few seconds before turning to look at me. “You saw Roger?”
I nodded.
“He was here…now?”
“Yes.”
Tears were swimming in her eyes, shimmering but not falling. “Did you talk to him?”
“Yes.”
The tears slid down her cheeks. She turned back to the staircase and started climbing.
Lavie shot me a quizzical expression before she decided to follow Carleen’s lead.
Ebony tightened her grip on my arm when I started to follow. “Are you sure everything’s okay?”
“Sure, listen, did you see or feel anything this time?”
“I felt the cold but when you fell into the coma-trance, it all disappeared. I swear it. I could feel something was definitely here, but…” She paused, thoughtful. “It’s almost like there’s a wall between me and you. I know I can cross over, I’ve done it before. Just never with you.”
It had to be true. Otherwise the Council wouldn’t have given her a permit.
“Don’t worry, we’ll work through this.” A thought suddenly struck me, as if a stray arrow had hit me in the head. The Prevette house was down the road. It was the first time I’d accessed the dark patch. Could whatever Roger had done in this house somehow be connected to the demon who’d made its way into the Prevette home? It made a hell of a lot of sense if it had. Demons using ghosts to make their way into our world wasn’t good news, but being able to put the two together was.
A Patch of Darkness Page 15
