To Stop a Shadow

by Carrie Pulkinen

“The little girl. Mabel.”

  Trent squeezed her hand as the memories flooded his mind. The torment. The anguish. Though it didn’t even happen in this lifetime, the raw emotions clawed at his soul as if the tragedy had just occurred.

  Tina’s lower lip quivered. “Bertha was distraught when Mabel died. She started calling in psychic mediums to summon her daughter, but Mabel’s spirit had already moved on. No one could make contact with her.”

  Allison nodded. “That’s common with children. Unless they’ve been through something traumatic, they haven’t experienced enough in this realm for anything to hold them here. Child ghosts are very hard to contact.”

  He rubbed his hand across Tina’s back, his heart aching at the way her voice trembled. She leaned into his side. “Well, Bertha decided to take matters into her own hands. She started studying witchcraft, searching for ways to manipulate energy to force her daughter back to our side.”

  “She made the portal,” Allison said.

  “She did. And like Gage said, she did it wrong. She messed up one of the symbols, and instead of pulling a human ghost through the gateway, she summoned the shadow. The defective symbol was supposed to represent the Austin family. To call to them. Instead, it bound the shadow to them.” She sniffled.

  Trent wrapped his arms around her, hoping his embrace provided enough comfort for her to continue. “It’s okay.”

  Tina nodded. “She freaked out and was afraid to tell her husband what she’d done, so she tried to fix it herself. She attempted to close the portal, but all she managed to do was bind the shadow to the gateway in the third-floor room. She covered the drawing with a rug, and the shadow has been collecting the spirits of everyone who’s lived in the house since.” She leaned her head against Trent’s shoulder as if merely telling the story exhausted her.

  Logan scratched his head. “Then why didn’t the shadow take Bertha and Cox’s spirits too? If they were able to be reborn, they aren’t trapped in the attic, right?”

  “That’s right,” Allison said. “Do you know how they managed to get away?”

  Trent hugged Tina tighter and continued the explanation for her. “The shadow did its thing in the beginning, preying on their preexisting conditions, namely Bertha’s maddening depression. The poor woman went nuts, and they moved to Virginia to be closer to her family. She died shortly after they moved. Cox sold the house to his brother, and that line of Austins are the ones who are trapped in the attic.”

  Logan arched an eyebrow skeptically. “And you got all this from a past life regression?”

  “There’s more,” Trent said. “After my accident, when my heart stopped beating for a few minutes, I died.”

  “No, you didn’t.” Tina pulled away and looked him hard in the eyes. “You did not die. Don’t even say that.”

  The anguish in Tina’s gaze tore at his heart. Though he was certain he’d crossed over to the spirit world, he couldn’t bear to see his lover in pain. He brushed a strand of hair away from her face. “Then maybe I was hallucinating, but I talked to the ghost lady without a hand. Turns out, she’s my great aunt Lucy. Jack’s wife. Her heart condition and her daughter’s aneurism…the shadow used their illnesses to kill them and trap their souls.

  “Jack became a recluse in his depression. He eventually found the portal and figured out there was a demon in his house.” Trent looked at Allison. “Apparently, he had his own psychic abilities, and he was able to communicate with the shadow. He made a deal with the devil, so to say.”

  Tina sucked in a sharp breath. “That’s why your uncle left the house to you. He knew you were Cox.”

  “Exactly. Remember when I said the handful of times I’d seen him in life, he’d been so creepy I was afraid of him? Turns out those creepy vibes were because he was reading us all, trying to find Cox and Bertha. The shadow promised him if he delivered our spirits, when Jack died, he’d get to see his wife and daughter again.”

  Allison pressed her fingers against her temples. “So when you said it felt like someone was whispering in your ear, telling you to call Tina to help you sell the house…”

  “That, I don’t know. Uncle Jack had never met Tina, so I don’t know how he could have known it was her.”

  Tina clenched her fist. “The shadow knew. I’ve had dreams about that thing since I was a little kid. It must have put the idea in your head.”

  His stomach ached with regret. “I’m so sorry I got you involved in this.”

  She shook her head. “Don’t be. I’m part of it, and I still would be, whether you got me involved or not.” She laced her fingers through his. “And if you hadn’t called me, I might have spent the rest of my life living fifteen minutes away from the man I’m meant to be with and not even realizing it.”

  Trent’s chest burned as anger ignited inside him. He’d put his friends’ lives in danger. Every time one of them stepped foot inside that house, they could’ve been killed. Hell, maybe the shadow had ahold of one of them now. What if Tina had a latent heart condition she was unaware of and the shadow was slowly destroying her body like it was trying to do to his?

  He shifted forward to rest his feet on the floor. He’d been in this bed far too long while his friends had been risking their lives for him. “It’s too dangerous for you to go back there. For any of us to. We need to board the place up and forget about it.”

  “We can’t do that.” Tina stood and faced him. “We have to vanquish it. It took my favorite boot. You know how I feel about those boots.” She fisted her hands on her hips.

  Trent rose to his feet, and the gown gaped in the back, the draft sending a chill up his spine. He reached behind to close it and sat back down. “Where the hell are my clothes?”

  Logan lifted a backpack from the chair. “I brought you some. But you should wait and see if they’re going to release you.”

  “They’re going to release me. They can’t hold me here against my will.” Fisting the gown shut at ass level, Trent marched toward the bathroom, snatching the bag from Logan’s hands along the way. “And then we’re going to bulldoze the place to the ground and burn the scraps.”

  He slammed the door and fumbled with the ties on his gown. Ripping it off, he shoved his legs into his jeans and finished getting dressed. There was no way in hell he’d allow his friends to endanger their lives for his family curse. He’d destroy the place and be done with it. Then he’d take Tina to Mexico, marry her on the beach, and they’d live happily ever after. End of story.

  He peered at his face in the mirror. Peeling the bandage from his forehead, he found the cut had been glued rather than stitched shut. A clear layer of film covered the angry, red mark above his eyebrow, but no trace of blood remained. He let his hair fall over his forehead, concealing the cut, and tossed the bandage in the trash.

  As he opened the door, a hushed silence fell across the room. His friends’ straight faces told him they’d been scheming, but he couldn’t let them go back to that house.

  “Feel better now?” Logan asked.

  “Much.” But the tension in the room thickened like pudding.

  Tina wrapped her arms around him and slid her hands down to his back pockets. “I preferred the easy access of the gown, personally.”

  Her flirtatious smile and sensual touch were almost enough to distract him from his plan. Almost. “I’ll give you all the access you want as soon as we get home. But now, I need my phone so I can call a demolition company.”

  Tina bit her bottom lip and looked at Allison. “Tell him what you told us, Allie.”

  “Destroying the house isn’t going to destroy the portal. The etchings in the wood—even the wood itself—are only symbolic. Just like the ghost of your Aunt Lucy isn’t really missing a hand. It’s how she presents herself because, since she’s attached to the space, part of her stays behind even when she stretches away to leave.”

  Allison sank into a chair and folded her hands in her lap. “The portal is made of energy. And the energy will remain whet
her the house is there or not. Which means the shadow will still be in our dimension and it will still have a hold on you.”

  The hell it will. He was done playing with monsters. “A hold on me how? I’m awake now. Tina brought me back with her when she woke from her regression. She pulled me out of the dream state I was stuck in. She saved me from the shadow.”

  Tina brushed his hair off his forehead. “But the shadow is still affecting your brain. Allie still feels the block.”

  “So, I’ll have to deal with sleep attacks every now and then. I’ve dealt with them before. I’d rather live the rest of my life with my narcolepsy flaring up than risk your lives any more than I already have.”

  Allison gave him a sympathetic look. “Your life won’t be very long if we don’t stop this thing. It’s going to kill you. And then it will kill Tina.”

  His heart gave one solid beat in his chest before lodging itself in his throat. Of course the monster would go after Tina. She wasn’t an Austin, but she had been in a past life. It was one thing for him to have to deal with the demon for the rest of his life, but there was no way in hell he’d let that thing go after his woman. “You think your ritual will work if I provide the blood myself?”

  “It has to,” Allison said. “We got it inside the portal before. We just couldn’t seal it. Hopefully, with you there reciting the words and providing the blood, it will work.” She chewed her lower lip, the uncertainty in her eyes less than reassuring. “Did you ever check out what was in his safe deposit box?”

  “We only went through the stuff in storage. Other than the list Tina found with my name on it—which apparently was a list of ghosts in the attic—there wasn’t anything of use.”

  Allison nodded. “It’s worth checking into before we go back.”

  The door swung open, and a doctor with white hair and a matching lab coat entered the room. “Good news, Mr. Austin. Your tests came back normal, so we’re going to release you.” He paused and raked his gaze over Trent’s clothes. “But apparently, you already knew that.”

  Tina squeezed his bicep. “We were hopeful.”

  The doctor scanned his tablet and pressed a few buttons on the screen. “Someone will be in shortly with your release papers. You’ll need to check in with your own doctor tomorrow, and if you feel anything out of the ordinary, let us know.”

  “Will do, doc. Thanks.” Though a demon messing with his brain probably wasn’t what the doctor meant.

  The door opened again, and, as the doctor slipped out, a male nurse shuffled in. Tina stiffened, dropping her arms to her sides, and the nurse’s face reddened as he lowered his gaze to the floor. Trent didn’t need to read the guy’s nametag to know this was Steve, the one who drew his blood yesterday.

  Steve cleared his voice. “Uh, Mr. Austin, I have your release papers. If you could sign there.” He handed Trent a stack of papers and a pen.

  Trent pressed his lips together, fighting his smile. “Thanks.”

  Tina rested her hand on the small of Trent’s back. “Hi, Steve.” Her voice was small, full of shame or embarrassment. He wasn’t sure which.

  “Hey.” Steve barely lifted his fingers in a pathetic wave before turning his gaze to Trent. “There’s a prescription for pain meds in there if you need it.”

  “I appreciate it, man.” He passed the pen and signature page to the nurse.

  Steve cast one last uncomfortable glance at Tina and scurried out the door.

  Trent chuckled. “Well, that was awkward.”

  “I…it was…” Tina’s brow knit in humiliation. “You didn’t happen to be listening when we took your blood, did you?”

  “I did. You were really laying on the charm. Should I be jealous?”

  She clutched his ass and pulled his hips to her. “You’ve got nothing to worry about.”

  “Good.” He slid his arms around her and pressed his lips to hers. Even he wouldn’t have fallen for Tina’s pathetic attempt at flirting with the nurse. He almost felt bad for the guy.

  Allison cleared her voice, and he reluctantly released his hold.

  Tina looked at her. “Well, Velma, the mystery is solved. Let’s load up the Mystery Machine and go bust the bad guy.”

  Logan crossed his arms. “She can be Velma if she wants, but I am still not being Shaggy.”

  Trent laughed. “Don’t look at me. I’m way too hot to play that role.”

  Tina rolled her eyes. “You can both be Fred, but I’m going need a shower before we go.”

  “Me too.” Trent lifted an eyebrow at Tina. After spending nearly forty-eight hours asleep, feeling her soft, soapy hands all over his body would be just the welcome back to reality he needed.

  “Well, then.” She ran her hands up his chest. “Want to come home with me?”

  Blood rushed to his groin, tightening his jeans. Thank goodness he’d changed out of that hospital gown. “That sounds like an excellent idea.”

  Allison cleared her voice. “I think an even better idea would be for me to go home with Tina, and Logan can take you back to our place to get ready. I’d like to vanquish this entity while it’s still daylight.”

  Tina stuck out her bottom lip. “Oh, Allie, you always ruin the fun.” She sighed and stepped away from him. “She has a point though.”

  “And you guys can stop by the bank to check out the safe deposit box on your way.” Allison picked up her purse.

  He didn’t like it. Those women had a tendency to take matters into their own hands, and his overwhelming need to protect them both had his nerves on edge. “All right. But no one steps foot inside that house without me. If you get there before us, wait in the car.”

  Allison gave him a mock salute. “Yes, sir.”

  He held Tina with a firm gaze. “I’m serious, sweetheart. We’re in this together, so we fight it together. Promise you’ll wait for me?”

  She kissed his cheek. “I promise.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  Tina sat behind the wheel of her Mustang and focused her gaze on the chip in her light pink nail polish. As soon as all this was over, she’d have to treat herself to a spa day. A deep-tissue massage, a mani/pedi, and a hair cut would get her back into shape. Not that Trent seemed to mind when she was a mess.

  A glance in the mirror in the hospital room had nearly caused her to faint; she’d looked so hideous. But with the way Trent looked at her, she never would’ve known she’d been so disheveled. His eyes held so much love and passion. No one had ever looked at her the way he did.

  “How did we get so lucky, Allie?”

  Allison inhaled deeply and opened her eyes.

  “Oh, sorry. Were you meditating?”

  “Not really. I was just thinking the same thing. These guys were meant for us.”

  She smiled. “And when the universe wants something to happen, it happens.”

  “Exactly.”

  She picked at her chipped polish. “I’m worried about him going in there. If the shadow wants him dead, how are we going to stop it?” An image of what the shadow had done to Gage flashed through her mind, and her throat tightened. “Can’t he just yell the incantation from the front yard or something?”

  “I wish we all could. But we need his blood to seal the portal, and we already know it won’t work if it doesn’t come straight from him.”

  The sensation of a thousand spiders crawling across her skin made her shiver. Her stomach turned at the mere thought of seeing blood coming from Trent…or anyone. “I want to be there for him. I want to protect him. But if I pass out when he cuts himself…”

  Allison took her hand. “So don’t watch. Logan will be shielding him. I’ll make sure he stays in the salt ring. Gage is bringing new bulbs and batteries for all the lights, and now that we know what to do, we can work quickly. You can do this, girlfriend. I have faith in you.”

  She could, couldn’t she? Wonder Woman could do anything she set her mind to, and so could Tina. She took a deep breath, the nauseating fear churning in her stomach tur
ning to a solid chunk of resolve. “You’re right. I can. I have to, so there’s no point in worrying about it.”

  Logan’s Mercedes pulled into the drive, followed by Gage’s Jeep. Tina sprang from her seat and threw herself into Trent’s arms before he could shut the car door.

  “Whoa.” He chuckled. “I missed you too.”

  “I love you. If anything happens to you in there…”

  “Hey.” He gripped her shoulders and pushed her away to look in her eyes. “I promise we are going to make it through this. We have a trip to Mexico to plan, remember? You’re not going without me.”

  “Damn right I’m not.” She intended to spend the rest of her life with this man, and nothing—demon, ghost, or otherwise—could stop her. She slipped her hand into his, and they met the others on the porch. “Did you find anything in the safe deposit box? Uncle Jack wasn’t hiding a shadow buster in there all this time, was he?”

  The corner of his mouth twitched. “Nothing like that, unfortunately. Just some old jewelry and a few gold coins. Valuables that had been passed down for generations.”

  “Damn.”

  Trent squeezed her hand. “Everyone knows what to do?”

  “Same as before,” Gage said. “Only faster and more effective.”

  Tina placed her hand on Logan’s shoulder. “You promise you’ll shield him?”

  Logan cast a wary glance at his fiancée.

  “He needs you more than I do,” Allison said. “I’ll be fine.”

  Logan nodded. “I’ll do my best.”

  “All right, gang.” Tina slid the key into the lock and pushed open the door. “Let’s get this over with.” She stepped into the foyer, and her heart slammed into her throat. Everything looked the same. The pristinely-decorated living room sat undisturbed to her right. To her left, she caught a glimpse of the cheerful yellow kitchen, but a heaviness in the air she’d never noticed before enveloped her as she tip-toed deeper into the home.

  She eyed the coat rack as she passed it, expecting it to topple over at any moment. Though the antique piece of wood didn’t budge, she opted to lay her coat across the back of the couch. The others followed her lead, leaving their belongings in the living room while Gage hauled his bag of supplies up the stairs.