by Apryl Baker
Mattie hovers as we walk to the elevators. It’s hard for her to not demand to know everything, but she’s getting better at restraint. This is not the place to talk about it. It’s not until we’re in the car that she turns and gives me an expectant look tinged with worry.
“I don’t think we’re dealing with a demon.” I roll the window up and turn the air on. It’s over a hundred degrees outside. I know she’ll cut the AC off in a few minutes, but I’ll bask while I can. “Well, maybe we are.”
“Which is it?” She starts the car and backs out of the parking spot. “Either it’s a demon or it’s not.”
“Well, I think it’s a man who’s being influenced by a demon.” I tell her about everything I’d seen while she pulls out into traffic and shifts lanes so we can get back on I-77. “What do you think?”
“I think we need to talk to Doc.” The grouchy ire in each word is enough to tell me she’d rather eat juicy worms than call Dr. Olivet. I’m not the only one making concessions.
Chapter Fifteen
Mattie
We didn’t make it to Doc’s. Eli called and said his mom wanted us to come over. Dan was not happy about letting Eli anywhere near me, but like I told him, tough. He was going to have to deal with it. I do understand his hesitation. He saw the same deaths I did, or at least that last one. His first instinct is to protect me, so is Eli’s. He’s my freaking Guardian Angel, for crying out loud. I don’t think he can hurt me.
Dan’s not betting on that being the case, though.
We’ve been sitting in the Malones’ driveway for at least two minutes. Dan’s staring up at the house like it’s a wild, rabid dog. His trepidation isn’t all about me, and he knows it. This is his family’s home. The family he’d been robbed of.
His past is just as screwed up as mine. Ann Richards and my mother, Claire Hathaway, had been sisters. Claire’s real name is Amanda Sterling, but to me, she’s always going to be Claire. Ann and Claire discovered that the Malones were special, that they could see ghosts and went about dealing with the bad ones. Ann thought of them as evil and “rescued” Dan from them. The way she did it is why she ended up in jail. She kidnapped Dan’s birth mother, held her hostage until she gave birth, and then killed her.
Dan discovered all this while helping me try to find my father. He also found his own birth father in the process, John Malone. With him came a ready-made family in the form of three new brothers and a sister. Dan still isn’t quite prepared to deal with them. Not that I blame him. It’d be a shock to anyone. I only have a father and grandparents to deal with, and a possible brother somewhere, but if I was faced with an entire family of strangers? Not sure I wouldn’t just pick up and run again.
“You sure about this, Squirt?” He squints up at the front door when it opens. His baby brother, Benny, darts out and runs out to the car.
“I don’t think Benny cares if I am or not.” I don’t wait for Dan to change his mind. I get out of the car and walk around to greet the little boy. He’s adorable with Eli’s aqua eyes, but otherwise, he looks just like Dan and Caleb.
Dan is much slower in getting out, but when he does, Benny lunges at him, wrapping him in a bear hug, and Dan ruffles his hair. “Hey there, little guy.”
“You lived!” The little boy looks up, tears in his eyes. “I thought you might die.”
“Nah.” Dan hugs the kid back. “I think Mattie would beat me if I died on her.”
Benny nods, his expression grave. “She’s got a mean right hook. Gotta be careful around that one.”
I can’t help but laugh at how serious he is. Such a cute kid. “Don’t worry, kid. You’re safe around me. I only hit people at least as big as me.”
He eyeballs me with cynicism, but latches onto Dan’s hand and starts pulling him up the drive toward the porch. I follow along behind them, doing my best not to laugh at Dan’s expression. It’s part mirth, part panic. The boy needs to buck up.
The house is what I call cookie cutter. They’ve moved into one of the nicer neighborhoods in the university area, but there are only so many designs. All the houses are basically the same. No uniqueness at all. And with the homeowner’s association, you can only do so much when it comes to colors. Blah, I say.
It is nice, though. Well, it will be once it’s all unpacked. Boxes are everywhere. They only recently moved here, and I guess with everything going on, finding time to unpack hasn’t been easy.
The more I look, the more I realize a lot of the boxes are new. Even furniture boxes. I remember Eli telling me when they moved, they literally moved with no furniture. No wonder it’s taking them a while. I’m betting they bought all new furniture and are now trying to put it together. Not a fun thing.
“Hilda.”
I turn to see Eli standing by the kitchen island. He looks worried. Those gorgeous eyes of his are shining with something akin to fear, and it sets my hackles rising.
“Eli Malone, if those dishes aren’t loaded, I swear you are going to be on kitchen duty for a month!”
We all turn to see a woman descending the stairs, a clothes basket overflowing with dirty laundry in front of her. She’s very petite, her brown hair brushed back over her shoulder. Dan moves back so she doesn’t run him over. When she finally looks up at the bottom of the stairs, she stops, nonplussed.
“Dan’s here, Mama.” Benny beams up at her, his hand still wrapped around Dan’s. “And the ghost girl who punched out Eli.”
He had to go there, didn’t he? He had to remind their mother I decked her son?
Heather Malone turns to look at me, but instead of hostility, I’m met with laughter. “He probably deserved it.”
“Hey!” Eli stalks over. “I did not deserve it. I was only trying to help her.”
“You grabbed me in a dark room without so much as a hello.” I give him my best grin. “You deserved it.”
He winks and pulls me away from Dan, his arm sliding around me. “Mom, this Hilda and Dan.”
“And that’s why you get hit. How many times do I have to tell you not to call me Hilda?” The ire in my voice belies the warm fuzzy feeling being in his arms gives me. I wish I could trust this was something more than the bond we share.
“Mattie, Dan, I am so happy to finally get to meet you both.” She looks torn about if she should attempt to hug us or shake hands or simply go about her business. “I just wish it were under better circumstances.” Her eyes flicker to Eli who ignores her completely and pulls me closer.
Dan’s entire body tenses up like he’s gearing up to tackle Eli, and before I can say a word, Heather stares her son down. “Eli, I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
“Mom, this is stupid,” he grumbles, but lets me go. “I’m not going to hurt her.”
His mother knows something, and it’s frightened her enough to warn Eli away from me. This can’t be good at all.
“Probably not, but until we can figure out how to break the curse, the safest thing to do is stay away from her.”
“Curse?” Dan slides closer to me. I can feel his stress level go up another notch. He so does not need this right now. We have enough to worry about with all the murdered kids.
Heather shakes her head. “Let me put this down, and then we all need to sit down and talk. Benny, go to your room and play for a little while.”
“Grown up stuff?” He wrinkles his nose in disgust.
“Yes, grown up stuff.” She moves around us and goes toward the kitchen.
Eli glares after her retreating back. “I’m not going to hurt you.”
“I know.” I try to sound reassuring, but I don’t think I manage it, because he only glares at me and then stalks off after his mom.
“You won’t leave without saying goodbye?” Benny tugs on Dan’s hand to get his attention.
“I promise.” Dan ruffles his hair and the kid dashes up the stairs like he’s got fire under his feet. Where do they get all that energy?
We shuffle into the kitchen where Eli’s mom is wai
ting. She waves us to sit then pulls out three very old looking books, one of which is massive. “Since Eli told us about your vision of Harper and my ancestor, I’ve been poring over family tomes looking for anything about it. What I’ve discovered is very unsettling. When Eli told me the men in your visions have his color eyes, it set off an alarm bell. I remember my grandmother telling me a very old story about a man in our family who became cursed. I’ve been searching all morning, and I finally found the story.”
She flips the largest of the books open and thumbs through the pages until she finds what she’s looking for. “Here. It directly relates to Harper and Captain Hiller.”
The Civil War couple. I remember them vividly.
“As you know, my family has been recordkeepers for centuries, but some of my family actually dealt with the supernatural themselves. Captain Hiller was one of them. He got involved in hunting down a witch. It was why he was at that ball. The witch was a woman named Tara Bensworth. She was the daughter of one of the Sterlings’ closest friends. He was there for an introduction.”
“And Harper threw a wrench in the mix?” Sounds about like her. She was a feisty girl, and her mother had been intent on making sure she and Captain Hiller spent some time together.
“Yes.” Heather smiled, still reading what was in front of her. “He definitely got thrown for a loop when he met Harper. It also derailed his plans. His mission was to get close to the witch, close enough that he could stop her.”
“Close enough to make her fall for him?” I am beginning to see where this is going and how it could end very, very badly. Girl meets boy, girl falls in love with boy, only to discover boy loves someone else. Add in the fact he wanted to kill her? She probably wanted him to suffer something awful.
Heather nods. “And he did exactly that. He kept the relationships secret from them both, but eventually Harper discovered what was going on. She refused to see him again, thinking he’d betrayed her. The good captain, according the story, climbed up the trellis and through her window where he confessed the truth of his mission to her.”
“A grand gesture.” Dan nods approvingly.
“Yes,” Heather agrees. “Captain Hiller decided that enough was enough and went to carry out his plan to kill the witch, only she’d found out about Harper. She’d come to the Sterling home that day with her mother and had seen the captain climb into Harper’s room. She’d snuck upstairs and heard the entire conversation.”
“So of course, she made her own plans.” I shift, leaning forward, fascinated by the story even if it was a little predictable. Love and revenge are the two things in this world that will never change.
Heather nods, her attention solely on the story she’s reading from. “Hurt and inconsolable, she crafted a curse. A curse that cannot be broken.”
“Can’t?” I squeak, looking to Eli. I am beginning to understand his frustration.
“She poured her soul into it, made it with pieces of her own flesh and blood to bind the dark magic. She made sure that he and his descendants would suffer the same pain he’d caused her. She felt like he’d murdered her heart, and the curse twisted that. Every single man or woman born with those eyes would murder the person they loved the most in this world, just as Tara herself was.”
“Did the captain kill Tara?” Dan leans back, listening with the same curiosity I am.
“Yes, he did, but not before she cursed him.” Her gaze lands on Eli who returns it with one of his own, one full of defiance. “Two years later, after their son had his first birthday, Captain Hiller stabbed Harper to death. Something came over him, the story tells. All he’d say at first when asked why he’d done it was because he loved her. A few hours later, his reality crashed and he felt the same pain he’d caused Tara.”
“They all say that in my dreams, because he loves her.”
“That’s why I think you and Eli shouldn’t be around each other.” Heather looks me directly in the eyes. “It’s too dangerous. He’d never forgive himself if he hurt you.”
“But the curse makes them kill the people they love.” I tilt my head, thinking. “Eli and I barely know each other.”
“Hilda’s right. I mean, I like her, but I don’t think it’s love. At least not yet.”
“Your bond mimics love,” Heather clarifies. “You will do anything to protect her as you are meant to do, Eli. The curse sees this as an act of love, and it’s confused. Whether you love her or not is irrelevant. The curse thinks you do.”
I knew this freaking bond was messing things up. The attraction was too fast, too all consuming. I mean, I do like Eli. A lot. Enough that I’m willing to see if there’s something real there or not.
“So how does this curse decide when to activate?” Dan moves so he’s standing between me and Eli. I roll my eyes at his back. Eli isn’t about to attack me now. So overprotective. Sweet, though.
“That is part of our problem. No one can agree upon the when.” Heather sighs heavily, her frustration evident.
“What do you think, Mom?” Eli sits at the table, giving up on trying to get near me. “You’re good at the research stuff. You have to have a theory by now.”
“Of course I do, but it’s just a theory.” She shuffles through a few more pages.
Dan shrugs. “That’s all police work is, really. Taking what you know and making good guesses. A theory is as good as anything right now.”
“From everything I’ve read, I think it’s the moment when he realizes how much he truly loves her.”
“They were married with a son.” Why hadn’t I remembered that sooner?
“That makes sense.” Heather nods, thinking. “In order to keep the curse alive, they’d need an heir. It was how Tara ensured its sustainability.”
“But wouldn’t they just stop getting married?” Eli rests his forearms on the table. “I mean, if this is what happens, why would he do that?”
Heather stares down at the book she has open like she wants to commit literary homicide. “Maybe they thought they could find a way to beat it or that it wasn’t true to begin with? I just don’t know, honey.”
Eli shoots a hooded glance my way. “Well, how do we fix it?”
“We don’t. It’s powerful magic and would require powerful magic to break it. Magic that requires a blood sacrifice.”
“What, like voodoo or something?” Zeke is fond of voodoo priests. He told me he wanted to consult one about how to fix my ghost energy problem. Usually you salt the doors and windows to keep the ghosts out, but it now keeps me out as well. I have too much ghost energy…but, maybe not anymore since I’m not carrying around Eric’s soul. We’re so going to test that theory!
“Or something.” Heather’s expression darkens. “It’s the most ancient form of blood magic that’s ever been referenced. To break this spell, you’d need a human sacrifice, and none of us are willing to do that.”
“There’s always a work around, Mom. We’ll figure it out.”
The look on his mother’s face is enough to convince me that’s not about to happen any time soon. There isn’t a work around for this, no matter how much Eli wants there to be.
“We can be Skype buddies.” I try to keep my voice upbeat because he looks so depressed. “Virtual dating is the new thing, don’t you know?”
Before he can respond, the front door opens and Ava comes in, throwing her purse down while kicking off her shoes. “Who’s here? I don’t know the car in the driveway.”
“Hey, Ava.”
Her head snaps around at the sound of Dan’s voice. She blinks rapidly several times. “Dan? What are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be at home resting or something?”
“I’m all good.” He waves off her concerns. “Your mom asked us to come over and talk about this curse business.”
“No, you’re not all good.” I smack him in the arm when he rolls his eyes at me. A bad habit of mine he’s picked up. “You just went back to the hospital and left again against doctor’s wishes. You are most definitel
y not okay.”
“You did what?” Ava shouts, her expression morphing from concern to outright anger faster than I can blink.
“It’s not that big a deal.” Dan’s tone is so casual it sounds flippant, which only makes Ava’s anger ratchet up another notch.
“You don’t think it’s a big deal?” She stalks closer, her finger wagging. “You almost died, Dan. Do you understand that? You get a second chance. Why would you throw that away by ignoring the doctors?”
“My CT was clear.” He runs his fingers through his hair. “Really, I’m fine, Ava.”
Instead of yelling at him again, she turns her flashing brown eyes on me, and I take a step back at the hostility in them. “He’s an idiot, but you’re not. Why would you let him do something like this?”
“He is an idiot,” I agree, “but I can’t force him to stay in the hospital. The best I can do is watch him and make sure I’m there if he needs me.”
I’m actually quite proud of myself because I didn’t blow up at her for shouting at me. Small steps to adulthood, I guess.
“Where’s Caleb and Mr. Malone?” I steer the conversation away from Dan. Idiot he might be, but he doesn’t need the stress of dealing with Ava’s misplaced anger. She’s scared and letting her anger control her emotions. “We need to talk to them about the murdered children.”
“They’re at the last abduction site.” Eli gets up and pours himself a glass of water. “Dad wanted to visit each abduction and body recovery site to look for clues the crime scene unit might have missed. He dragged Caleb with him.”
“He’s not gonna be home for a while, then?”
“No.” Heather straightens, closing the monster book. “They should be home in a few hours, though. Why don’t you two stay for dinner and…”
Dan’s shaking his head before she can finish the sentence. “We have to get going. Mattie’s grandparents are flying up from New Orleans, and I promised I’d get her back before too long.”
