The Third Eye of Leah Leeds

by Christopher Carrolli

  Her breath expelled in rapid puffs, while her deep blue eyes arched upward in a glare at the glass that made her look like a mad dog. She watched the mirror continue to taunt her, mocking her with the resumption of its original appearance. All the haunted images of her life played back in her mind because at this single moment in the course of her life, the images had formed together into a final, climactic collage.

  Her eyes spied something on the floor.

  It was one of the team’s flashlights. Cory had been holding it when his body dropped to the floor. It had rolled and then rested just a few inches short of the mirror. She reached down and grabbed it as the fury burned a hole inside of her. She tightened her grip around it and could sense the others gathering around her.

  Leah pulled her arm back and hurled the heavy flashlight at the mirror.

  * * * *

  As Tahoe watched what Leah was about to do, a quick, passing vision flashed through his mind. In his third eye, he saw a vision of the mirror and the man who possessed it. The man was staring into it, and then there was a flash of lightning. Then, the vision ceased. Leah had to destroy the mirror, but what she was about to do could endanger them all. He thought fast as she threw the flashlight at the glass.

  * * * *

  The mirror shattered into a million slivered pieces that sprayed in multiple directions. They ducked from the splatter of flying shards, and Leah felt arms around her waist, pulling her out of the way, yet again. It was Tahoe, and thanks to him, she missed being cut by the flying glass. Slivers, shards, and chunks had covered the floor, but no one had been hurt. Now as they stood off to the side of the mirror, she could see by the fear in his eyes that his concern was not just the glass. It was something deeper.

  It was then that the mirror reacted.

  The mirror was wavering, rocking sideways where it stood. The sound of its trembling grew louder, and suddenly she and the others became blinded by a powerful light that projected from beyond its frame. At first, the whiteness was so bright that it sent a pain through her head. Then, the white changed to the strange green hue they’d witnessed around the demon. The colors interchanged, and she could see flashes of another light stirring within them.

  Suddenly, lightning bolted from the vast beyond of the gateway that was once protected by the glass. The entire house became blinded in the electric-blue luminescence of its wrath. It struck through the vacant frame, ripping through the room and separating its inhabitants from side to side. It was a quick strike, unleashed as if what barricaded it had finally been broken. Afterward, only flickers of light danced beyond the frame.

  Leah found herself on the floor with Tahoe taking cover over her, shielding her body with his, as though she were still a child. When she rose to see that Sidney, Dylan, and Brett were okay, she realized that though they were all safe, the lightning strike had left something worse behind in its wake. Flames now spread a brilliant orange up the walls, catching the remaining curtains, and kissing the expanse of the ceiling.

  She and the rest of the team looked up and all around them, realizing what was taking place, though the scene took a moment to register in her mind. This time, it was not a projection of her third eye; this time, it was real. The fire was everywhere and spreading. Cedar Manor was burning, and they had only minutes to flee.

  “Everyone get out, now!”

  She thought of only one thing as Dylan’s voice bellowed out the final instruction—her father. Before Leah had broken the mirror, Susan had gone back down to attend to him. She turned and ran down the stairs, hearing the flames that were now beginning to roar and the flurry of footsteps were fast behind her. There was no sign of either Susan, or Paul, as they reached the landing on the second floor.

  She screamed for her father, and Dylan’s voice followed.

  “Susan?”

  “Down here!”

  The voice had come from below, and Leah glanced over the second floor balcony. Susan was helping Paul walk down the stairs to the first floor. He seemed conscious, alert, but slow. The crackling sound of catching fire grew louder as it came closer.

  “They’re down there, already,” she said, pointing.

  She and the team looked behind them and noticed the fire had already reached the bottom of the stairs they’d just descended. Pieces of burning lace from the finer curtains floated through the air, igniting whatever they touched. Knowing the lightning had caused the fire, she realized now that the purest form of electric fueled the orange fury that was falling everywhere.

  “Let’s go! Go, go, now!”

  Dylan was pushing her while motioning the others with his waving hands. It took them seconds to reach the bottom of the stairs to the first floor and into the grand hall, where Susan and Paul were heading for the entranceway.

  Leah caught up with them as Brett and Sidney scrambled to grab what they could in a hurry. Dylan was chastising them for taking the extra time, but they’d paid him no mind. She knew they would all be out in time. Now, her only concern was her father.

  “Dad, are you okay?”

  “I’ll be fine, Leah.” His voice was faint, but she heard him.

  “So, you found the mirror?” Susan said.

  “It’s a long story,” Leah said. Obviously, Susan had heard the commotion and executed a plan to get Paul out to wait for the ambulance that still hadn’t arrived.

  She turned and took one last look at the house behind her. Smoke was billowing into the grand hall and with it the faint tinge of orange lingering in the background. The fire was consuming the house. It was over now. What was done was done. It was what she had been called to do, and she’d done it, and now she watched.

  Dylan and Sidney were shouting at her to get out. They were following Brett, who had already made his way outside, arms full of his fast, final gatherings. Tahoe approached her.

  “There’s nothing more to be done, child,” he said. “Let Hell consume that which it has brought forward.”

  The surging flames raged forward, gutting through the great manor with a rumbling sound that coincided with the familiar clank of the furnace. She walked backward through the entranceway, careful not to turn her back on her enemy for a moment.

  * * * *

  The cold stung her face the second she stood outside. She and the rest of the team hadn’t time to grab their coats. Leah’s teeth chattered while Cedar Manor burned in front of her.

  Above, the breaking of glass repeated in succession. She looked up to see the gable windows shattering one by one from the heat that raged inside.

  Now, the flames burst out from the broken windows, producing billowing clouds of smoke that reached far above the house and into the night. She watched as the bane of her dreams and the cause of her nightmares became engulfed in the flames that began to surround it.

  An inexplicable peace came upon her as a weight like stone had been lifted from her shoulders.

  Within minutes, it would be no more. It was Sidney who now stood beside her, and for just a moment, she could’ve sworn she heard exactly what he did the moment he took her hand. Vengeful cries screeched through the night and then were gone. She imagined the rage of evil souls screaming in torment as flames destroyed their sanctuary and scorched the rotten, undead flesh that clung to their souls. She looked at Sidney in awe.

  He nodded to her, and they hugged each other in the victory of answered prayers. Then, they turned their attentions to the others whose voices grew louder.

  “Get him to lie down in the van,” Dylan said to Susan. “They shouldn’t be much longer.”

  After Leah ran and caught up with Susan and her father, she saw two figures coming closer. Snake and Hollywood were running up the walkway toward them. Leah was stunned to see them at first and then remembered that they both lived on Cedar Drive, just down the street. Hollywood ran to her and wrapped her arms around her.

  “You’re okay,” she said, the sound of surprised relief in her voice did not go unnoticed.

  “I am,” Leah
said, “thanks to you.”

  Leah had hung the cross back around her neck after Paul had handed it back to her, adamant that he was fine. She clutched it now and felt her heart lift higher than it had in awhile.“Thank you for lending me what I’d forgotten,” she said. Leah lifted her hands to remove the chain and cross and return it, when Hollywood stopped her, reaching out and touching her hand.

  “No, please keep it,” she said. “It’s yours, always.”

  Leah felt a tear form in her eye.

  “Thank you,” she said, embracing the girl once again.

  “Is your father okay?” Snake asked, standing behind and silently watching the demise of Cedar Manor.

  “It looks like it,” she said.

  “We were volunteering for the road crews, helping to clear the street and the bridge,” Snake said. “As we got closer to the house, we saw the smoke and called 911.”

  “They should be here any second,” Hollywood said. “Cedar Drive is clear, but the snow’s starting up again.” The wind and snow had resurged, spinning spirals of white before them.

  They’d all been gathered outside the gated entrance, when the sound of approaching sirens wailed at them. Leah could see the flashing red coming closer. It was the ambulance for her father.

  Susan addressed the paramedics as soon as they arrived.

  “He’s suffering from shock,” she said. “He was unconscious for a few moments, but he came to. Most of what he needs, right now, is rest. Also, there’s a casualty inside.”

  The paramedics strapped Paul into the gurney. It was at that moment that more sirens blared, and flashing reds and blues accompanied the chaotic sound of horns. The fire department had arrived, followed by the Police.

  Brett approached her and the others in a hurry before Detective Goddard reached them.

  “Listen,” he said. “There’s no need to mention why Cory was with us. Earlier, I discovered that he’d hacked into our system. It’s no longer a problem—I fixed it. Stay cool.”

  Goddard’s expression was one of concern as he walked over to them. He noticed Snake and Hollywood standing with the team. He spoke to them first.

  “Why am I not surprised to see the two of you here?”

  “They weren’t here, until just now,” Leah said. “They were volunteering with the road crews and called 911.”

  “Is everyone alright here? What happened?”

  Goddard watched as the paramedics were now boarding Paul into the ambulance. Susan explained Paul’s situation and then told Leah that she was riding along.

  “He’ll be fine, Leah,” she said. “I’ll watch over him. Detective Goddard, I’m sure the team will fill you in, but I can be reached at the hospital.”

  Susan gave her keys to Brett and asked him to drive her car to the hospital.

  “I’ll meet you all there,” she said, and climbed into the ambulance.

  * * * *

  Brett watched the ambulance drive away, taking note of the caution it paid to the slippery road that he, himself, would be driving. He’d been feeling the rising surge of emotions within him all night, the nervous tide that tore through him just before his secret took whatever form or shape it wanted to, and the change came over him. The fear and tension of the last few moments in that house as the fire raged in a test against time were excruciating. Barreling out of Cedar Manor with as much of their equipment that he could muster was the highest point of climactic chaos he’d reached in awhile.

  He and Sidney had managed to save the EVP monitoring system, and most of the tripods and video apparatus that had been in the grand hall. It was impossible to get down to the basement and retrieve the equipment that had been brought down there, but he assumed that since it was underground, the odds of it being safe were good. The important thing was that all of the evidence they’d discovered tonight, the ghost photos and the EVP recordings, were safe.

  But now, as Goddard began to ask questions, the nervousness and chaos that had been briefly soothed by the brisk cold began to build in him again.

  * * * *

  “Everyone’s okay, then?” Goddard repeated his concern first and then proceeded with the expected. “So, what happened here tonight?”

  Leah was about to speak, but Dylan spoke first.

  “Cory Chase was with us tonight,” he said. “He’s dead.”

  “What?” Goddard’s voice broke in astonishment. “You all told me that it would be just the team, here, tonight. How did Cory Chase end up here, as well as Mr. Leeds, and your friend here?” He pointed to Tahoe.

  “I can explain,” Leah said. Dylan tried to interrupt her, but she persisted. “No, Dylan, let me. It’s my story to tell.” She stepped into the middle of the small crowd.

  “This is Tahoe Manoa,” she said. “He’s the man I wrote about in my memoir, the one I met as a child. He’s one of the world’s most renowned psychic seers. He came here to help me, as well as the team.”

  Goddard’s eyes focused on the older man, and Leah could see recognition in them.

  “I couldn’t stop my father,” she said. “He showed up and was adamant, and Dr. Logan thought it might also be a cathartic experience for the both of us. I didn’t want him here.

  “Cory Chase found out about this investigation through the grapevine. He showed up at the university and told us that he wanted to do a piece on the house and the murders, since tonight marks forty-five years since the murder of Sheila Barton. He said he wanted to shed some more light on what happened here, to bring as much justice to the victims as he could.”

  “Funny,” Goddard said, scoffing. “Mr. Chase never struck me as that kind of reporter.”

  Leah shrugged, feeling the eyes of the others upon her. After seeing their facial expressions, she felt sure that they’d noticed her affection toward Cory. She was also aware that they’d witnessed her tearful, yet volatile display following his death.

  Now, Goddard watched her.

  The sound of the fire was now a roaring blaze intermixed with the thrashing gush of the fire hoses. Then, the boom and crash of tremendous weight falling caused them to look back at the house. It was the sound of the third floor as it fell from within.

  “Unbelievable,” Goddard said, watching the blaze. “So, what happened to Chase?”

  Leah looked him straight in the eyes.

  “You wouldn’t believe it if I told you,” Leah said. “You see, Detective Goddard, even though you’ve read my memoir, and you know what happened in this house, you remain a skeptic. Unless you saw it for yourself, I doubt you’d ever believe what we all saw. Tonight, the evil in that house almost killed me, my father, and it did kill Cory Chase, just like it killed Jimmy Nort.”

  Leah motioned toward Snake and Hollywood.

  “You’re going to have to accept the fact that these kids were telling the truth,” she continued. “What they saw that night was real; this entire team has confirmed it.”

  “We have proof,” Brett said. “We managed to save the evidence we obtained tonight, before the fire could get to it.”

  Then the team told him the entire tale. They filled him in on everything that had occurred in the house, as well as the evidence they’d collected and would gladly reveal to the public, not to mention the secret passageway that led to the narrow tunnel that connected to the woods.

  Goddard’s eyes widened. Leah realized he was aware that the passageway was something the police had missed, something they should have known about long ago. It was a crucial piece of evidence they’d overlooked for many years, only to be uncovered decades later by a paranormal team that was gaining fast, nationwide recognition.

  Sidney showed Goddard the hidden drawings from the book, going further into detail about the rituals that Marlowe had conducted and the discovery that the mirror had been a gateway.

  “We discovered that same gateway, tonight,” he said.

  “And the strange lightning that witnesses saw coming from this house years ago, we discovered that too. The gateway was
the source of it.”

  Goddard was speechless at Dylan’s revelation.

  “It was what caused the fire,” Leah said. “It was what killed Cory. I’m not sure how we made it out of that room alive, but we did.” Leah felt it best to blame the fire for Cory’s death. She didn’t want to detail the hideous figure that had reached for her and touched Cory. It was easier to feed Goddard what he needed to hear. They were necessary lies, and she’d told a few tonight.

  Leah could feel her eyes unblinking, staring off into the falling snow.

  Another loud crash sounded behind them. The second floor had now fallen away as the firefighters fought closer to the blaze, blasting water upon fire that only lessened, refusing to be smothered.

  Snake and Hollywood gathered around her, watching the structure burn and standing on either side of her. She started to feel her world come together, the peace of finality, the freedom of all things hidden being revealed. Now they all watched the eerie display of the odd, pointed spire as it fell from the roof to the ground, landing with its point stuck into the ground.

  Leah looked for one last moment, and then it was time to turn her eyes away...forever.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Goddard excused the team from any further questions, and they left Cedar Drive in two separate vehicles. But before they left, Leah confirmed for him how the old furnace in Cedar Manor still made the loud, clanking noise it always had. It was just as he’d suspected. He remembered hearing the same sound during the investigation that uncovered the bodies a few years ago. The furnace had never been fixed; there was never any need.

  This realization gave him an idea.

  Jerry Bishop, the fire chief-inspector, was his longtime pal; they’d grown up together since junior high-school. He’d have a private word with him as soon as he saw that he was free. But right now, a covered gurney was being carried up the limestone walkway from Cedar Manor. Just beneath the cover, Goddard could see the black of a body bag.

  “Hold on,” he said. “I want to have just one look, if I may?”

  The paramedics pulled the cover back and unzipped the side of the body bag. Goddard pulled the loose flap back, and the overpowering stench of burnt flesh poured out at him, making him wince and take a step back. He held his hand over his nose and mouth as he looked inside.