“Hooray! Is she coming to our house?”
“Yes, baby. We’ll go together and pick her up. How is that?”
“It’s an excellent idea. Is Dad coming with us too?”
“You bet I am. And we can stop by the ice cream parlor and buy your grandma’s favorite ice cream!”
“Yes! We are going to celebrate, right, Dad?”
“If you do not go to bed right now, we will just rethink that.”
“Consider me in bed right now! Hold on a second, I have to have my fruit salad ice cream first.”
“Viktoria.” Brandon turned to me as our son dug into his ice cream like it was going out of style. “Did you find out anything about Mom?”
“No, not yet. But I’ll send a text message to Melisa.” I took out my phone and texted: “How is Grandma doing?”
Why didn’t I think of that before? I wondered, and then I felt my phone vibrating in my hand. “Oh, she’s calling. Hi, Melisa, how is Grandma Nelly doing?”
“Oh, she has just fallen asleep. I’m downstairs getting a snack. Doctor Damien is here too. We were having coffee together, but as soon as I am done, I’m going upstairs, so don’t worry, Mom. She is fine.”
“Just call to let us know if anything changes.”
“Okay.”
“Good luck with your test tomorrow. And Daddy says not to stay up too late.”
“Okay, Mom. I have to go now.”
“Viktoria,” Brandon said when I hung up the phone, “we need to talk about your work. This is getting in the way, and that is starting to cause problems. You have to stop this or pass it to someone else. Greg can take over this case. I don’t want you to proceed any further.”
“You can’t be serious, Brandon. How you can ask me that? You know better! Once I have taken a case—and I have been on this case a few months—I just can’t pass it over to someone else! It doesn’t work like that, and you know it! I have a responsibility to be there for other people; they rely on me!”
“What responsibility? To whom? The dead people? They are dead! They are gone! Done with this life! There is nothing you can do!”
“I don’t know what the hell is wrong with you, Brandon! Before I started working with this psychic case, you were the one who kept pushing me to work and get myself some confidence! Now you’re telling me to stop! I know this is not you talking; I am brushing aside everything you are telling me. Let it go. Since I’m not dropping this case or passing it to any other psychic, don’t ever broach this topic again, do you understand me? Now I am going to my office to work. If you still have a problem, you had better deal with it fast.”
“Viktoria, you are being unreasonable and acting like a child right now. Think about what I am saying. I am not telling you to leave your job, only this case!”
“Brandon, read my lips: N-O!”
I ran upstairs to our bedroom, slammed the door, and began pacing.
“Viktoria,” I heard Gabriellele ask, “is Brandon okay? I heard what he said. Do you think he is right? I have never seen him so mad.”
“You know, Gabriellele, he thinks you and the other dead … that there is nothing I can do to help you or the others. He does not want to understand! Do you think you should show yourself to him? Then we will see what he thinks. Go down; he is in his office. Go ahead and show yourself to him!”
“Are you sure?” Gabriellele asked, concerned.
“I’ve told you before, I am sure. Go ahead and show yourself.” I felt another presence. “Good timing, Azalea. Gabriellele’s about to show herself to Brandon. Would you like to show yourself to him too?”
“Viktoria, don’t you think you are overreacting? What happens if he gets scared or … I don’t know.”
“Azalea, honey, don’t worry. He thinks that when people die, we cannot help them with anything, that they are gone. Done. So if it is as easy as he says, he should not be afraid of a spirit. Go ahead, go. I will be coming downstairs with pleasure as soon as he yells my name.”
“Let’s do it then,” Azalea said.
“Azalea, you go through the door; I’ll go through the wall,” Gabriellele told her.
“I hope he doesn’t have a heart attack.”
“Azalea, don’t say anything. Let’s watch him first; let’s wait and see how he responds to us being there.”
“Viktoria,” I heard Gabriellele whisper, “we’re here. He’s going over his files.”
“Okay then, move something so that you can get his attention. Otherwise, he will not take his eyes off those files.”
“Okay, let’s move the file next to Azalea.” They became silent. “Not responding. Let’s flick the light, okay, Azalea?”
“What the hell is going on with this light?” I heard Brandon yell. “I just changed it the other day! And I don’t even know where Viktoria keeps the lightbulbs!” I heard the door open. “Viktoria! Where is a lightbulb? I need one for my office; it’s going out!”
“Brandon, you just changed it,” I said not looking up from the magazine I had lying in my lap. “It will not go out; just switch the light on and off. That should work.”
“All right, I’ll try that.” I heard the door close.
“Okay, girls,” I whispered. “Now!”
“Oh my God! Who are you? What are you doing here? How did you get in my office? Are you Melisa’s friends? She’s not here. Viktoria! Get downstairs right now! Two of Melisa’s friends are here! What are they doing in my office?”
“Brandon, calm down. These girls are the ones you said were only spirits. There is nothing we can do for them, remember? They heard what you said, and they are here to reason with you and explain.”
He looked at me. “I know you put them up to this.”
“You see, Brandon, you are sensitive to them. Do you feel them? Do you see them? They want to tell you why they are here. They want to know what I can do for them, so that they can cross over.”
“How long have they been here? Are they with us all the time?”
“Yes, most of the time. Azalea just came in; she was watching over your mother. Gabriellele, the tall one, she is with us. She likes to talk to Lacey.”
“What are you saying? She likes to talk to Lacey? Why are you getting Lacey into this mess?”
“Lacey is very sensitive; she sees Gabriellele and others. She is the one who told me that there was a lady next to me the day I came home from the hospital. She has been talking to my mom and Babushka.”
“Since … when has she had this psychic ability?”
“I don’t know when, but she recently told me she has been talking to the dead.”
“I can’t win, can I? If it’s not my wife, it’s my daughter! Go ahead! Do what you need to do, but I know there will be things you might see you will not like. I can feel it.”
“What do you mean, Brandon? Is there something you know that I don’t?”
He shook his head. “I’m just overreacting; I don’t know anything. You’ve had your fun. I need to go back to my files.”
I left.
***
Brandon turned around and saw the man in the corner of the room. “Samuel, we need to talk. Viktoria is going to find out sooner or later about it. I need your help; this thing is getting deeper and deeper. If she finds out, she will never forgive me.”
“Brandon, we still have time. She has to find the twins first, and even then, she will not know about them. So there is nothing you should worry about.”
“I wish I never got involved with you people.”
“Well, it’s too late. You wanted to be successful and have power. You should have thought about that before you agreed to this. You knew what you were getting into.”
“What about these two spirits in my house? What are we going to do? Would they say anything about me to Viktoria? Then what?”
“You don’t need to worry. They’re both forbidden to talk; they won’t say much anyway. They’re trying to help Viktoria and trying to stop us from killing the rest. We need to get rid of all of them; we don’t need them anymore. They are of no use to us. Two of them were touched by Leila, but we do not know who they are because they were all born at the same time. Why do you care anyway? Your twins are already dead. They all have to die; we cannot let any of them live.”
“God, what have you done? Samuel, do not touch my family! Keep your demons away from them! I do not want you to bother them. Do we understand each other?”
“I cannot promise you that, not until all the demon-born babies vanish from the face of the earth. I have stopped your mom from talking about the twins. If I hadn’t, your psychic wife would have known everything by now.”
“I cannot believe you! You hurt my mother after all I have done for you! I am telling you, keep away from my family! I am warning you!”
“Brandon,” Viktoria asked through the door, “who are you talking to at this time of night? It’s getting late. I am going to sleep, you should too. We have an early morning.”
“Okay, honey. I’ll be up soon. I’m talking to someone at work. One of my patients is acting up again. Go to sleep; I will be up as soon as I am done.”
***
“I cannot think of anything now, Gabriellele,” I said to her as I sat at the kitchen table. “Now I know there is something that Brandon is involved in that he does not want me to know about. I am absolutely sure of that. Whatever it is, I’ve got to get to the bottom of it.”
“Viktoria, who is Samuel? Brandon was talking to him after we left his office.”
“I don’t know, but Brandon said he was talking to someone from work.” After a yawn, I said, “Okay girls, I need to sleep, so I’ll see you both tomorrow. We’re going to see Nelly.”
I lay in bed, waiting for sleep to capture me. Just as it almost took over, Brandon walked in. He looked worried and concerned. He kept mumbling, “What have I done?” I pretended to be asleep; I did not want to question him. I knew he would only get more upset.
But all night, I kept wondering who Samuel was. I knew all his coworkers, but I’d never heard of Samuel before.
I got up early to get the kids ready for school. When Brandon showed up—not looking much better than he did last night—I asked him to drop them at school. I wanted to get to the hospital and see how Nelly was doing.
When I arrived at the hospital, I saw Doctor Justin getting out of his car, so I rushed over to see him and ask him if Brandon had ever brought up Samuel to him.
“Good morning, Doctor Justin. You’re here early this morning.”
“I came in to see Nelly, and then I have some operations. I might not have time to see her afterward, so I thought I would see her before.”
“That is nice of you.”
“Nelly is someone special to me; I will do whatever it takes.” He looked behind me. “Where is Brandon? He’s upstairs already?”
“Oh no, Brandon’s dropping the kids off at school and then he is going to work. Samuel called late last night; he said there was a problem with one of his patients.”
“That’s strange. My wife was on duty. I don’t think I’ve ever heard of Samuel before. Are you sure you didn’t get the name wrong?”
“No, I don’t think so. That’s what Brandon told me.”
“It must be someone new then. Linda never mentioned any problems at the hospital last night. She usually calls and tells me about them the next day.”
I decided to change the topic. “Anyway, what do you think about Nelly? Will her speech get better?”
“In a couple of days. Some speech therapy sessions would help her talk better. But be easy on her; she needs lots of rest, and less anxiety would help. Otherwise, I’m sure she will do fine. Nelly is a strong person.”
“The night when she had the heart attack, Nelly wanted to tell me something. She said it was important; she was excited and trembling. I had never seen her like that before. I told her whatever it was, it could wait until she was feeling better. Now when I see Nelly, I feel bad because of it.”
“Then let’s go in together; she might not say anything yet. In addition, I will tell her not to get herself tired by moving or talking too much.”
“Thank you, Doctor Justin. I know it’s an excellent idea if it comes from you.”
We arrived at her room about ten minutes later. “Good morning, Nelly,” I said. Doctor Justin was following me. “How are we doing this morning? Look, Doctor Justin is here to see you too.”
“I feel much better this morning. Melisa and I had some juice, and she left for school a few minutes ago.”
“Let me see the chart to make sure you did get better,” the doctor said before picking up her chart at the end of her bed. “By the looks of it, you’re right. Much better. Keep it up, Nelly! You will be out of here tomorrow morning.”
I grabbed her arm. “Nelly, tomorrow, you can come home! That’s wonderful news!”
“I will let you go home as long as you promise me that you will relax and have no excitement around you—and less chatting.”
“We promise, and I will swear to it, Doctor Justin. Right, Nelly?”
She sighed. I could tell she wasn’t happy, but she was going to do it. “If you say so.”
“Nelly,” Doctor Justin said looking at her. “I want you to promise me, or I will not let you go home.”
“Justin, I hope you know what you’re doing. Bargaining on this … you know it’s impossible to do that.”
“Well, Nelly. What do think? Is it a promise?”
“Good morning, everyone! How are you doing this morning, Nelly?”
“I am doing just fine, Doctor Damien, but these two are not.”
“What, Nelly?”
“They’re both trying to bargain with me before Doctor Justin lets me out tomorrow.”
Doctor Damien laughed. “Well, can I be a witness to that, Doctor Justin?”
“It will be my great honor.”
“You are in on this too, Damien,” Nelly said with a hint of betrayal in her voice.
“You can say that we just want you to get better as soon as possible. I heard you make the best brownies.”
“Now I understand,” she said with a knowing smile, “why everyone is so concerned about me.” She sighed. “Okay, then that is the deal.”
“Nelly, the kids are so happy that you are going to stay with us. They fixed up the bedroom downstairs for you. Cameron and I will pick you up, and then you have the rest of the day to do what he has planned for you. Nelly, do you need anything? At home, I mean. Do you need me to pick up something?”
“Yes, dear, but we will get it on the way to your house. Viktoria, I still have something to tell you; it is very important that I do this soon.”
“Nelly, I told you before; when you feel better, I am all ears for you, and Brandon wants to know as well.”
“You told him?”
“I am so sorry. I didn’t know that he wasn’t supposed to know. The day you got sick, Brandon asked me what made you so upset—what caused you to have the heart attack. I told him you wanted to talk to me about something you had overheard.”
“Maybe it is for the best if he is there when I tell you. I want everything to come out at the same time.”
“All right then. When the time comes, we will think about that. But for now, I want you to get some rest. I’m going to go downstairs and get something to drink, okay, Nelly?”
When she nodded, I patted her hand and walked out of the room. As I was walking down the hallway, my phone rang. “Hello?”
“Hi, Mom,” Lacey said. “How is Grandma Nelly doing?”
“She’s fine, Lacey. Why are you calling me? Is everything okay at school? You’re not sick, are you?”
“Mom, can you come to my school? I need you to see someone.”
I walked back to the room and opened the door. Nelly looked over at me. “Nelly, I have to go to Lacey’s school. She needs me there, but I won’t be long.”
“Go, dear, don’t make her wait. She needs you. I hope she’s not sick or anything.”
“She said she’s fine, but she wants to show me something. She has a project that she needs help with. Nelly, if Greg comes by, do not tell him I went to the school; he will panic.”
“Don’t worry. I will tell him you have gone to pick up something from my house.”
“Thanks, Nelly. I love you.”
Chapter 8
Saving Mrs. Adams
“Mom,” Lacey said when I got back on the phone with her, “I’m concerned about one of my teachers. She recently started teaching in our school. I think some sort of entity is following her around; it is a dark shadow. I don’t know what to do.”
“Lacey, don’t do anything. Stay away from the dark shadow; do you understand me? Do not get any closer or have contact with it. Do not let it know you can see it. I’m coming over there now. One thing you can do is find out when your teacher’s birthday is. That’s very important.”
“Okay, I’ll find out and call you.”
“Okay, baby, I’m calling Michael and Greg to meet me over there. This could be very dangerous; stay away from your teacher! Tell her I need to talk to her; it’s important.”
I hung up with Lacey and called Michael. “Michael, I’m going over to Lacey’s school. She said that she has seen an entity around her new teacher; she said it is a black shadow. Can you call Greg and come over there? I need help from both of you.”
“Yeah, sure. Don’t go inside without me, okay? We both will go and ask for the teacher.”
“Okay, Michael. I’ll wait right in front of the school for you; we’ll get Lacey too. I don’t want her to hang around there any longer.”
I hung up with Michael and closed my eyes. “Okay, Babushka. It’s time to use those jinns; I need their presence at Lacey’s high school. She needs protection.”
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