Haunted Covenant (Dying Covenant Trilogy Book 1)

by Amanda M. Lee

  “Just a mess,” I replied. “She’s messier than you are.”

  “That’s not much of an insult. I clean up after you,” Aric said dryly. “You didn’t find anything?”

  “We searched the entire room,” I said. “We looked under the bed, under the mattress, in the closet, through all of the dresser drawers … there’s just nothing there.”

  “I don’t know what to do,” Aric said, rubbing the back of his neck. “I don’t feel particularly good about keeping her a prisoner in the house, but until we know what’s going on I don’t see where we have much of a choice.”

  “She’s grounded for a month,” I reminded him. “That should make the job easier.”

  “Well … .” Aric shifted from one foot to the other and averted his gaze. I knew exactly what that loaded “well” meant.

  “You caved, didn’t you?”

  “I didn’t cave,” Aric countered. “I … listened to her explain how she overreacted and … um … then she used that voice she uses when she wants me to do something and … yeah, I caved. Sue me.”

  “You’re such a marshmallow,” I said, poking his stomach.

  Aric furrowed his brow. “Wait, you’re not angry?”

  “I knew you’d cave. You always do.”

  “I don’t always cave.” Aric shot me an annoyed look. “That’s unfair.”

  “Oh, puh-leez.”

  Aric snatched the bag of mushrooms back and clutched it closer to his chest. “I’ll wash these myself.”

  “I think that’s best.”

  I glanced up to find Paris and Heath biting their lips to keep from laughing. “It’s okay if you want to make fun of us,” I said. “You’ll learn eventually that you’re a marshmallow, too. I give in all of the time – although it’s less because she uses that voice and more because I’m too lazy to embark on a full-fledged argument.”

  “It’s all very illuminating,” Paris said. “Heath and I are not going to parent like that, though. We’re going to be firm.”

  Aric snorted as he dumped the mushrooms into a colander in the sink. “Yeah, we said that, too. The first time your kid points at a stuffed animal in a store and says ‘pretty, daddy’ you’ll melt just like I did.”

  “He gives in more often than I do, but I still do it, too,” I admitted. “She knows she can snow him.”

  “She doesn’t snow me,” Aric argued. “I know she’s manipulating me. I just can’t make myself care. She’s so cute. She has those big brown eyes, and when she smiles I see Zoe looking back at me.”

  “She doesn’t smile like me.”

  “Yes, she does,” Aric and Paris said in unison.

  “I know you think she looks like me but she has your smile and that thing she does when she wrinkles her forehead and really concentrates – usually on doing something evil – is all you,” Aric added. “I can’t say no to you either, in case you haven’t noticed.”

  “You say no every summer when I want to eradicate the bees in our yard,” I reminded him.

  “That’s different, and you know it,” Aric said. “I’m a pushover for both of the women in my life.”

  “You mean all three of the women in your life,” I corrected. “You’re a big puddle of goo when your mother comes around, too.”

  “Oh, yeah, speaking of that … .”

  Aric didn’t get a chance to finish because Sami picked that moment to stomp back into the kitchen. Her previously sunny disposition was gone and in its place the sullen tween monster I’d come to recognize as my daughter. “Someone was in my room!”

  My heart sank as I hurriedly stared at the steaks I was readying to get out of the plastic wrap. “No one was in your room,” I lied. “Why would you think that?”

  “Because someone cleaned off my computer screen,” Sami said. “It had pop on it from when I laughed at a video on YouTube the other day. I never got a chance to clean it off.”

  “I think there’s a lesson for you there,” Aric said smoothly. “Clean up your messes – especially when it comes to expensive electronics – right away.”

  Sami ignored him. She knew he wasn’t the guilty party, which meant her ire was directed solely at me. “Why were you in my room?”

  “I was looking for a T-shirt,” I said. “I thought you might’ve grabbed it out of the dryer by mistake.”

  “That’s such crap, you liar,” Sami snapped.

  “Hey!” Aric wagged a warning finger in Sami’s face. “Do not speak to your mother that way. We just had this talk and you said you were sorry. Was that all an act?”

  “No, but I said it before she went through my stuff,” Sami said, her cheeks flushing with color as the anger built and the embarrassment of Aric’s chastisement in front of other people washed over her. “I want to know what you were doing in there.”

  I shot a murderous look in Paris’ direction as she made herself busy on the other side of the island studying the label on the steak sauce. “This is your fault,” I said. “I told you she would notice if you cleaned something.”

  “I didn’t mean to clean it,” Paris shot back. “It was just so … gross.”

  “Yeah, kids are gross,” I said. “Get used to that.”

  “You’re gross,” Sami said. “I want to know why you were in my room and I want to know right now!”

  “Lower your voice,” Aric said, his voice even but harsh. “I’ve had just about enough of you. You’re sweet and loving one moment and a monster the next. Your mother was in your room because … .” He didn’t know how to explain the situation without panicking her.

  “You walked in your sleep again last night,” I volunteered. “We’re worried that somehow you’re being controlled, and we looked through your room to see if you had any possessed items.” That would shut her up.

  “Do you expect me to believe that?”

  Or not. “It’s the truth, Sami,” I said. “You walked out of the house again last night. I have no idea where you were going, but you didn’t respond to us when we talked to you. I had to go into your mind again. We found you in a bowling alley.”

  Sami stilled, a small flicker of recognition flaring in her chocolate eyes. “That didn’t happen.” This time her voice was barely a whisper. She remembered the dream and now that she knew part of my explanation was real she was terrified the rest of it was true. “I would know if something like that happened.”

  “Sami, we’re not trying to spy on you,” Aric said. “We’re trying to take care of you. That’s our job. I know you don’t believe that, but … we’re worried.”

  “Why?” Sami challenged, her annoyed tone returning with a vengeance. “Do you think I’m finally going to turn into a magical wonder like Mom? Is everything you told me finally going to happen, or is this going to be a big nothing like everything else?”

  I opened my mouth to answer and then snapped it shut. Part of me understood why she believed that. We had been preparing her for the worst her entire life. When she was little, we ran her through drills in case a stranger approached her. We made her recite back to us what she would do if we both were killed and she was left on her own. She was terrified of every shadow for a time, and finally Aric and I realized we were doing her more harm than good and took a step back. To her, it probably looked as if we were taking a step forward again.

  “Sami, we made a mistake when we tried to make you remember all of that stuff when you were a kid,” Aric said, his expression pained. “We’re sorry. This is different, though. You’ve gotten out of your bed and tried to leave the house two nights in a row. We thought you were sleepwalking, but Paris thinks you were in a trance, that someone was trying to control you.”

  “We thought if we could find a cursed object in your room we would be able to put an end to it and find the person doing this,” I added. “We didn’t go through your things to invade your privacy.”

  “I don’t believe you.”

  I probably wouldn’t believe me either if the roles were reversed. “That doesn’
t change the fact that I’m telling the truth.”

  “Oh, whatever!” Sami grabbed the empty bowl I planned on putting the potato salad in and threw it in my direction. Aric’s reflexes were fast enough that he caught the bowl before it struck me, and he growled as Sami bolted for the front door.

  “Where is she going?” Paris asked, alarmed.

  “Not to her room,” Aric muttered, following the sound of Sami’s feet. She was stalled at the front door when we caught up to her, fruitlessly punching a code that no longer worked into the keypad.

  “What’s going on?” Sami screeched. “Are you locking me in here forever?”

  “Not forever,” I said. “Just until we figure out what’s going on.”

  “No!” Sami grabbed the door handle and wrenched it open, ignoring the wail of the alarm as it marked the breach.

  I hurried to the keypad to punch in the correct code as Aric followed Sami outside. I was only a few seconds behind them, but when I hit the top of the walk I pulled up short. Two new people had joined the party, and Sami raced toward them when she realized reinforcements – for her, at least – had arrived.

  “Grandma! Grandpa!”

  TEN

  J ames Winters caught Sami mid-air as she threw her arms around his neck. She was in full-on sob mode and her grandfather’s face contorted in concern when he realized it wasn’t glee she greeted them with, but sadness.

  “What’s wrong, pup?” James ran his hand over the back of Sami’s hair as her wails grew exponentially louder. She was playing for an audience now. “Did something happen?”

  “Mom and dad are being mean to me,” Sami said, her voice shaking.

  “I’m sure that’s not true,” Helen Winters said, moving up behind her granddaughter. She had a dark look on her face as it bounced between her son and me. “Are you sure you’re not overreacting?”

  Sami bit her lip and shook her head, fat tears spilling down her cheeks.

  “Well, Grandpa is here now, so you can tell me what’s wrong and I’ll fix it.” James had a pervasive attitude as a grandparent. Aric swore up and down he didn’t boast that same attitude as a parent. I think there’s some unspoken rule that grandparents have to take their grandchild’s side, making the parents the ultimate bad guys. “What’s wrong, my little puppy?”

  I hate it when he calls her that, by the way. Not only has Sami manifested limited mage powers, but any wolf traits have fallen by the wayside as well. I can’t decide if Aric is happy or sad about that. James and Helen are most definitely sad.

  “Mom went through my room and looked at all my stuff,” Sami said. “She’s spying on me.”

  That was a gross exaggeration. “I’m not spying on her.”

  Helen lobbed a challenging look in my direction. “That doesn’t seem fair, does it?”

  “Oh, good grief,” I muttered. “What are you guys even doing here?”

  “You didn’t think we’d miss our only granddaughter’s birthday, did you?” James asked.

  “No, but her family birthday party isn’t until next weekend.”

  “And Aric called me earlier today and asked me to come,” James shot back.

  I slid an accusing look in Aric’s direction. “Really?”

  “I was going to tell you,” Aric said. “We got distracted in the kitchen. I thought Dad might be able to help me search the woods and follow that scent. I picked it up in three different locations while we were mushroom hunting.”

  “You could’ve mentioned that sooner.”

  “Yes, but I didn’t want to alarm Sami,” Aric said. “That was before you told her someone evil was trying to possess her. Good one, by the way.”

  “Oh, bite me,” I muttered, crossing my arms over my chest. “I can’t believe you didn’t tell me.”

  Aric ignored my anger and moved to greet his parents, exchanging a warm hug with his mother and one of those stiff, one-armed embraces with his father. It wasn’t easy since Sami still had her arms thrown around her grandfather’s neck.

  “We’re so excited for your birthday, Sami,” Helen said. “We got you a great gift.”

  Sami’s crocodile tears evaporated quickly as she brightened. “You did? What is it?”

  “It was on your list,” Helen said, moving toward the back seat of her husband’s sports utility vehicle. Given the location of James’ body I couldn’t see how big the gift was when Helen removed it from the vehicle, but Sami’s gasp told me it had to be huge.

  “Omigod!” Sami’s screech was obviously for a good reason for a change. “It’s a puppy!”

  My heart rolled as I pressed my tongue to the back of my teeth and took a step forward. This could not be happening. There was no way Helen and James would be irresponsible enough to … nope, there it is.

  Sami’s arms were full as she swiveled, a wriggling German shepherd puppy happily licking her face as the duo yipped together.

  Aric risked a glance over his shoulder. I could tell the puppy came as a surprise to him, too. “Um … Mom … I … how … don’t you think … .”

  “We’re not keeping that puppy.” The words were out of my mouth before I could think of a better way to phrase them, although the sentiment would’ve been the same.

  “What?” Sami’s face crumpled as she clutched the puppy closer to her chest. “No! He’s my gift.”

  “He’s her gift,” James repeated. “We didn’t buy him for you, Zoe.”

  On a normal day James and I got along. I often wonder if he would’ve preferred Aric marrying a full wolf and living a boring life, but if he felt that way he never showed it. Helen was another matter. We got along, but she coddled Aric to the point of forcing me to fight the urge to puke some days. I figured that had to be a mother-and-son thing.

  “No, but you should’ve asked us before you brought him here,” Aric gritted out. “I cannot believe you bought her a puppy without asking us.”

  “We knew you would say no,” Helen sniffed. “We bought a gift for our granddaughter. The dog is non-refundable so … suck it up.”

  “Yeah, suck it up,” Sami echoed, hugging the dog as tightly as she could as the animal licked her cheek. “I love him, Grandma. How did you know I wanted him?”

  “Because you sent us a link to the breeder photographs and mentioned that he was located right around the corner from our house,” James answered dryly.

  “He was also on that list you sent us,” Helen said, laughing as the puppy licked Sami’s face.

  “Why don’t you take your new buddy inside and get settled,” James suggested. “I think you two are going to have a busy night.”

  “And I think your father and I want to have a talk with your grandparents,” I added.

  “Don’t let her bully you,” Sami hissed, shooting me a challenging look before skipping toward the house. “Aunt Paris! Look what Grandma and Grandpa got me for my birthday.”

  I waited until Sami was inside before unloading my fury. “How could you buy her a dog without asking us?”

  “We’re allowed to buy our granddaughter a birthday gift,” Helen said. “A girl turns twelve only once. That’s what she wanted more than anything.”

  “And you knew by just showing up with it we’d have no choice but to keep it,” Aric said. “We can’t take it away from her without being the evilest people on the planet. Nice job.”

  “I’m glad you approve, son,” James said, clapping Aric on the shoulder and moving toward the front door. “Our bags are in the back. Grab them before you come in, will you?”

  Helen and James followed the excited yips into the house and left Aric to deal with my wrath on his own.

  “I’m so sorry.” He looked pathetic when he finally found the courage to meet my gaze. “I thought they could help. I had no idea about the dog.”

  I studied him for a moment, the need to yell ultimately doused by sympathy. “You’re cleaning your own mushrooms.”

  Aric flashed me a lopsided grin. “I love you, Zoe.”

  “You
’re going to be rubbing me later, too,” I said, stomping toward the house.

  “That sounds like the best offer I’ve had all day.”

  “I’M GOING TO name him Cuddles.”

  Sami sat on the floor in the living room and hugged the puppy as the rest of us settled around the dining room table for dinner.

  “You’re not naming him Cuddles,” I said. “Pick something better.”

  “Why not Cuddles?”

  “Because I’ll be the one outside calling for him – and your dad will be the one outside cleaning up all of the crap bombs he leaves behind – so you can’t name him Cuddles,” I replied. “Pick something cool … like Captain Kirk.”

  Aric barked out a laugh while his father shot me a disapproving look.

  “Not Captain Kirk,” Sami said. “He’s not the hot one. If I was going to name him after a hot guy in Star Trek it would be Spock.”

  “I’m pretty sure you’re not my kid,” I said. “Someone must’ve switched babies in the hospital.”

  “That would mean Dad knocked someone else up, because everyone says I look just like him,” Sami said. “I’m not against that, just so you know. I’m sure my real mother wouldn’t go through my things.”

  “That did it.” Aric hopped to his feet. “I think it’s time for you to go to bed.”

  “I haven’t eaten dinner yet,” Sami complained.

  “Then let go of Captain Kirk and move your butt to the table,” Aric said, taking the puppy from Sami and ignoring the hateful look she scorched him with. “Apologize to your mother, too.”

  “Not until she apologizes to me for going through my stuff,” Sami huffed, stomping to the table and settling between her grandparents. They’d strategically placed themselves so the only open spot was between them. Their coddling was going to become a problem before the night was out. I just knew it.

  “Eat some steak,” Helen said, reaching for Sami’s knife and automatically starting to cut it. “You should have some vegetables, too. You need the vitamins to become a strong wolf.”