“You will go now.” She expected the laughter from the entities, but not how her teeth rattled or the blood she tasted on her tongue. “Go or I will force you to go in a most unpleasant way.” She raised her hand, unsure if her threat would work or if she could even do the forcing like she threatened.
The one closest to her glared, sniffing the air as it entered Alaina’s personal space. She refused to back up, not even when the thing got nearly nose-to-nose with her. Trying not to breathe in, she placed the hand with the ring between them.
“I call on the forces of mercy and grace. I call on the spirits of past guides and the protection of all that is pure. Remove these entities from my sight and send them to the place where their soul resides.” She repeated the first part, expanding the verse as the words filtered into her head.
The black mist shifted, breaking up and struggling again to re-form. She watched it swirl around the space, creating alternating fields of relief and strife as she once again repeated the dismissal. She glanced to the right, seeing Patrick, Dave, and Micah’s mother. Their concern and confusion filled her, but she didn’t have time to dwell on it right now.
Finally, the darkness faded. The red eyes were the last to leave, but they blinked out with the same growl she’d been greeted with upon seeing them. Alaina leaned against the wall, breathing deep while trying to re-focus her thoughts and energy. This was going to be one damned long night.
Patrick grabbed her hand. “Are you okay?”
She rolled her head to the side, cracking her neck and breathing him and the comfort he provided in. “Yep. Got to be.”
“What did you do?” Susan gingerly reached out to her. “That was amazing.”
A rush of cold air whooshed past them, bringing a flood of random and negative emotions. The blast stilled at the landing, reversing and rushing back past them and into the room Alaina assumed was Micah’s. Loud laughter and the sound of clinking glasses filled the air, accompanied by the strong odor of nefarious activities Alaina knew should not be in a child’s room.
“Where’s Micah?” she asked his mother, wondering why they hadn’t seen the boy yet.
“At his grandmother’s. She’s going to bring him to meet you shortly. He wants to stay here tonight, but I told him it would be up to Patrick. My poor son . . . he’s taking all of this on as something he did.” Tears filled her eyes.
“I’d like to talk to your babysitter as well.” Patrick stared in the direction of the noise down the hall as he spoke.
“I already called her after you mentioned it this morning. She’ll be here after school. My husband is at work, though how he’s still putting in the hours he does is beyond me.” Susan glanced away quickly.
A sharp noise shook the floor underneath them. Patrick headed toward Micah’s room. Everyone followed, all conversation ceasing when the cacophony swelled as if anticipating their arrival. When Patrick opened the door, all they saw was a typical little boy’s room—the fire truck comforter was haphazardly thrown over the pillow. Building blocks and toy cars littered the map rug in the middle of the floor, dump trucks lined one side of the room, and a pair of pirate pajamas was tossed over the ladder of a red fire truck.
Nothing seemed out of place. The air was still and the noises ceased, leaving an eerie quiet to shift around her. Chaos erupted as soon as she stepped into the room. The door slammed shut, shaking against the wooden frame. The small building blocks rose from the floor, pinging against Alaina’s skin as if trying to drive her out of the room.
Pure evil and desperation clung to her with every scrape the plastic toys left on her skin. Alaina shielded her face, struggling at first when Patrick held her against his chest. She realized she was the only target in the room. Whatever evil resided in Micah’s bedroom didn’t want her there. She didn’t have to wonder how far they’d go to get her out of the way.
Cedric’s warning replayed in her thoughts. The stream of children’s toys bouncing off her body finally stopped. Patrick rubbed her back, making no move to push her out of his arms. The steady beat of his heart calmed her. She met his eyes, gathering strength before stepping away.
“Well. That was interesting.” She dabbed at a small dot of blood welling on her arm near where the stuffed owl had bit her. Hell, there was nothing interesting about any of this. The whole thing was stupid and scary.
The doorbell rang from the hall, amplified by a speaker set into the wall next to what Alaina assumed was Micah’s parent’s bedroom. Everyone followed Susan to the front door. The steady stream of dark figures sidling against the walls caught Alaina’s attention. As they lined up against one another, they didn’t seem to notice her like those building blocks that had assaulted her in Micah’s room.
By the time they reached the main floor, a teenaged girl sat on the floral-print couch in the living room, her hands crammed between her knees. Alaina’s impression was of a wholesome girl who was guarding a deep and terrible secret. Guilt rose off the young woman in a steady stream. Patrick glanced at Alaina, confirming he sensed the same things. Alaina sat beside the young woman at the other end of the couch. Patrick took the chair opposite, leaving Susan and Dave to sit on the love seat small couch. The room screamed with tension and questions answered but not yet asked.
Micah’s mother finally introduced the young woman as Traci. As soon as Traci nodded, tears flowed heavy with the need to relieve the burden she carried. Alaina handed her the box of tissues from the table next to the couch and waited.
“I think what’s going on here is my fault.” She sniffed.
“How do you know what’s going on?” Patrick asked, his tone hard and unforgiving even though Alaina got a different impression from him.
“Because it started before I left that night. It’s my fault. I called them. As soon as I said the words, dark shapes filled the room. They screamed at me. Micah had gotten up for a drink of water and, as soon as he came down, they teased him.” She sobbed into the tissue.
Despite the compassion and urge to comfort building in her, Alaina didn’t offer her shoulder. Not yet. The girl had much more to tell before she could.
“How did you call them?” Patrick’s hard-assed voice came again.
Alaina wondered if this was some kind of good-cop-bad-cop game he played, but she decided to reserve her opinion until after the girl spilled the rest of her guts.
“From a book. My friend gave it to me. She made it sound more like a joke, but she dared me to try. She said the spell would make Jason Farver like me. He’s our school’s quarterback and would never notice me. He dates cheerleaders. Not ugly girls.” She grabbed another tissue from the box and blew her nose. “I think I messed everything up. I’m pretty sure it wasn’t a love spell.”
“Who’s the friend who gave you the book?” Patrick asked.
Traci shook her head. “Emma. I guess she’s not really a friend. I’d hoped she’d be, but I haven’t seen her since the day she gave me the book. She was new. She said her family traveled a lot because of her dad’s job with the government. We hung out for a few days after school. She told me the shortest time she was ever in a new place was six hours. They arrived in their new house in the morning, and in the afternoon her dad had gotten an immediate transfer. Isn’t that a terrible way to live? She hated it. She told me it was really hard for her to make new friends because she never knew when they’d have to pack up and move.”
The gullibility and desperation of the girl had probably been a huge boon for whatever entity tricked her into taking the book. Alaina didn’t bother to point out to Traci how what her friend said was improbable.
“Do you still have the book?” Patrick glanced at the backpack on the floor beside the girl.
“I do.” She unzipped the bag and handed Patrick the book wrapped in a black bandana. “You can have it. The thing makes me feel icky. I haven’t touched it since
the night I ruined everything.” Her sobs rose to a hysterical pitch. Micah’s mother moved over to comfort the girl as she repeatedly apologized for what she’d done.
Honestly, Alaina wasn’t sure she could be so compassionate to someone who’d caused her child to be terrorized and turned life upside down. Maybe it was something she’d learn on her journey through life, though right now she couldn’t imagine. The front door opened, and an older woman and a small, dark-haired little boy entered the house.
Susan turned her attention from the sobbing teenager to her son. He squealed as he launched himself into her arms. A twinge of envy hit Alaina’s heart. The little boy appeared tired, but his smile for his mother touched Alaina. He glanced around at the visitors to his home and took a deep breath.
“You came to help me.” He studied each of them, coming to stand in front of Patrick.
Patrick blinked at the little boy, nodding as the child took one of his hands and shook it in an awkward adult-like gesture.
“We came to help you, Micah. First we’re going to need to ask you some questions about what’s waking you up, okay? How old are you?” Patrick struggled to get the words out, and Alaina couldn’t figure out what was wrong.
“I’ma be five.”
When Micah said his age, it hit Alaina. Micah was the same age as Patrick’s son would have been. And Micah’s mother looked a lot like Jana, though Patrick hadn’t told her if she really did or if it had been a trick of nefarious means. Patrick refused to meet her eyes, even when she nudged him by purposefully invading his thoughts.
Not good.
~ ~ ~
Patrick studied the little boy. He’d been sucked into this weird dimension where it seemed he was dealing with what should have been his family. He tried not to study the kid for evidence of his own features. This was not his child, and the woman was not his wife. He’d buried them, together, his son still in Jana’s womb. He’d closed the casket after putting their wedding rings in Jana’s hand, placing his hand over where he imagined his son lay, and adding a red and white rose.
This family was not his.
Alaina had tried to get in his head, but he refused her. She’d sensed his dismay and the emotional upheaval. He was in too much shock to maintain the mental blocks he should have—not to keep Alaina out, but to prevent those trying to punish him by gaining access to his turmoil.
The little boy stared at him, waiting for the questions he’d promised to ask. His feet shuffled at the edge of the area rug. He glanced at his mother as if unsure. Patrick finally stuffed the memories and everything related to Jana and their son into a tight space deep inside him. If he was going to help this family, he had to focus.
“Sorry about that.” He smiled while wondering if his reaction might have damaged the little boy’s faith in them being there to help.
“S’okay. I do that sometimes, too. I start thinking about stuff and forget to pay attention.” He shook Patrick’s hand again, his grin sweet and strained.
“Do you want to tell me about what’s going on in your house?” Patrick patted the footstool and the little boy sat, perching his elbows on his knees and nervously glancing over at the babysitter.
“It’s okay, Micah. I should have never asked you not to tell.” Traci started crying again. Alaina leaned in, finally willing to offer her comfort.
“I was sleeping and something woke me. It poked my skin. Here.” He pointed to his neck where a yellowish-green circular bruise stuck up halfway over the collar of his shirt. “I didn’t know what happened. I got up to get a drink and tell Traci my throat hurt. When I came down the stairs, she was crying and black clouds were around her. I asked her if she was okay and the clouds came over to me. They weren’t clouds. They had faces. Mad faces.”
The matter-of-fact way he described the shadows saddened Patrick. No child should have to experience that level of trauma. He shot Traci an annoyed glance, knowing she was as innocent, or nearly so, as Micah, but unable to help himself.
“And those mad faces still try to hurt you?” Patrick studied the boy’s arms, the answer to his question in the bruises and small cuts covering the child.
Micah nodded. “They hurt me every day. My toys bite me. Did you know my blocks can fly? Only it hurts when they crash into you. I don’t like my bed anymore.” He lowered his voice as if sharing big news.
“That’s no good, buddy. You shouldn’t be afraid to go to bed. Do they ever try to talk to you?” Patrick was kind of worried to hear his answer.
“They want me to get the lady. They kept saying it over and over.” He shook his head, turning to Alaina. “I think she’s the lady.”
“What do they say, exactly?” Patrick was sure he wasn’t going to like the answer.
“Get her and bring her to us. Then we will leave you alone.” Micah turned to Alaina again. “You’re the lady they want, aren’t you?”
Alaina nodded. “I think I might be.”
“Can you make them go away?”
“We’re going to do our best. Right now, I need you to trust us and go home with your grandma so you can get some sleep. Okay?” Patrick reached into his pocket for the bag Alaina’s houseguest had forced on him.
“They follow me. I want to stay.” The statement came out as a frightened whisper.
“You can’t stay. They’ll hurt you. I know they follow you, buddy. But they’re not going to bother you anymore. You need to wear this. All the time. Don’t take it off until I tell you to, not even to take a bath or sleep. It’s very important. Can you do that?” He held the black cord holding several different charms out for Micah to study.
“Okay.” He grinned, accepting the necklace. “What’s this one?” Micah fingered the silver cross, moving on to a tightly woven silver circular pattern next to it.
“It’s for safety. The next is for peace. And the ones on each end are to keep bad spirits away,” Patrick said, hoping he’d remembered correctly from the charms he’d helped his grandmother make when he was young.
“Cool. Is this mine?” Micah leaned his head forward so Patrick could slip the cord over his head.
“Forever. I have one for your grandma, too. To be safe.” He glanced at the older woman.
“Grandma only wears gold stuff. I don’t think she’ll like it.” Micah chewed his lower lip.
The older woman moved to sit behind her grandson. “Of course I’ll wear it.”
She leaned over so Patrick could place the pendant around her neck. Micah smiled.
“And I have one for your mom and Traci.” The bag would be empty. There wasn’t one for the boy’s father. The unease returned to claw at his stomach, but he shoved it down as he handed Susan one. Traci still blubbered as he placed the necklace over her head. Dropping his hand to her shoulder, he realized how much of a victim she was—only a lonely girl searching for a friend and acceptance. Too bad that friend had turned out to be a vindictive evil too horrible for words.
“It’s okay. We’re going to fix this. I promise. I don’t believe you purposefully unleashed those things.” He hoped it was enough to help her start to get her emotions together.
She nodded, grabbing Alaina’s hand while wiping at her nose with the crumpled tissue. “Thank you. I wish I could take it all back. I wish I’d never even met her. She wasn’t my friend. She used me to hurt people.”
Micah ran to the couch and crawled onto her lap. “It’s gonna be okay.” Micah placed his hand on her face. “You’re still my favorite.”
Traci laughed, tears shining in her eyes. “You’re my favorite, too.”
Patrick figured it was some kind of game they played when Traci babysat. He tried to ignore how cute it was. He didn’t have time for cute or for the gnawing around his heart at Micah’s tender gesture toward the very person who’d made his life a living hell. Already Micah was a better p
erson than Patrick.
Alaina turned to him. Her glare was so sharp he swore it cut into his skin. She shook her head but said nothing as she stood. Her displeasure at what he assumed was his thought pattern soaked through his false serenity.
This was going to be one long night.
The walkie-talkie at his side sounded a single tone to indicate command central was set up. They hadn’t even taken the full tour of the house, and at this point, he wasn’t sure covering the rooms with cameras was going to show anything they hadn’t already seen. But, having the footage couldn’t hurt, and it would give them something to do while they figured out what the next step was. He had no idea what was going on in this house. All he knew was he hated it. Nodding to Alaina, he left her to make sure everyone who didn’t belong here left the house and motioned for Dave to follow him.
“I think you’re going to experience a lot tonight,” he said as he leaned against the folding table loaded with surveillance equipment. “I wanted a small crew because this could turn into a dangerous situation. These entities have already hurt the little boy and Alaina. I want you out of here at the first sign of violence. Got it?”
“Are we ready to start placing cameras?” Dave practically bounced with excitement as he picked up the bag with the infrared cameras inside, a roll of gaff tape on his arm.
“We’re ready. I don’t want anyone going anywhere alone—no matter what. There’s already activity.” He briefed them on the previous events, including how the dark energies were summoned. “Pair up and let’s get moving.” Patrick grabbed the digital camera and checked the batteries.
“What about you, boss? You’ve got no partner.” Dave paused in the doorway.
“He’s with me.” Alaina stuck her head around the corner, smiling despite all they’d already put up with. “You all must be careful. Whatever is here doesn’t want us snooping around.”
The team member he assigned to oversee the computers for the first shift blanched. Her hands shook as she tried to reconnect one of the speaker wires into the side of the laptop. She seemed like she was about to vomit. Patrick couldn’t have the weakness on his crew, regardless of how well she fit in and the great amount of potential she had.
The Shadow Guide (Challenging the Fates) Page 21
