The Suicide Forest (The River Book 5)

by Michael Richan

Chapter Eight

  June had arranged a three-hour window for them. Roy figured they could pick up Robbie, drive him to Ballard and Dixon’s boat, then get out on the water for a solid hour before having to come back and shuttle him home.

  When they pulled up to June’s house, Robbie came bounding out the front door, a small backpack on his back and his palms pressed together. His finger had a large white bandage at the end. Roy got out of the passenger’s side and opened the door to the back seat for him, then reminded Robbie not to drop the token while he buckled Robbie’s seat belt.

  “We’re going on a boat!” Robbie said, bouncing up and down.

  “You promise you won’t tell your mother about this?” Steven said.

  “No, I won‘t,” Robbie said. “She never lets me do anything.”

  “Well, if you mention any of this to her,” Steven said, “we’ll never be able to take you again, so let’s keep it secret, OK?”

  “Absolutely,” Robbie said, still bouncing. “Can I go fishing?”

  “Sure,” Roy said. “We’ll all fish. How’s your finger?”

  “It hurts,” Robbie said. “Maybe I’ll catch a shark! It’s shark week!”

  “Shark week?” Roy said, turning to Steven.

  “It’s a TV thing,” Steven said.

  They talked about sharks and TV as they maneuvered the Seattle streets, winding up at the docks in Ballard where Dixon’s boat was moored. Robbie was fascinated by the boats they passed.

  Once they arrived at Dixon’s boat, introductions were made. Roy told Robbie he’d hold onto the token for safekeeping, and Dixon tried a life preserver on Robbie for size.

  “Can’t remember the last time a kid was on this boat,” Dixon said, laughing.

  “Can I drive it?” Robbie asked.

  “Well, that depends,” Dixon said, taking the life preserver off Robbie. “Are you a captain?”

  “Yes!” Robbie said enthusiastically.

  “Once we’re out to sea, we’ll see about you driving,” Dixon said. “Now let me get things started. I know we’re on a timetable.”

  Dixon left the three of them in the main room of his boat, and they heard the engine roar to life. Slowly the boat backed out of its berth.

  “Cool!” Robbie said, running to the windows to watch.

  “How soon before we start?” Steven asked Roy.

  “Well, we’re on water now,” Roy said. “We might as well. We only have an hour.”

  “Let him watch a couple of minutes more,” Steven said.

  ◊

  “Try again,” Roy said. “See how fast you can do it.”

  Robbie closed his eyes. Steven, who was already in the River, watched as the child concentrated on the mirror. For a moment he saw it start to glow, but it faded before it reached the blinding white light that Judith required.

  “What’s wrong?” Roy asked Robbie.

  “It won’t work,” Robbie replied.

  “You have to concentrate,” Roy said. “Forget about fishing and the boat for a moment. This is more important. Put all of that out of your mind.”

  Robbie tried again. The mirror began to glow, better than before, but still sputtered out before reaching a state that would trap an entity.

  “I want you to think about how those demons have been scaring you,” Roy said. “How they made you bite your finger. The hands in your bed at night. You hate all that, right?”

  “Yes,” Robbie said. “I do.”

  “Then try again, and direct all that hate at the mirror,” Roy said. “Don’t think about anything other than how much you hate them.”

  Steven watched as the mirror glowed and then sustained. Then it grew in intensity until it seemed to explode in a blinding white flash. “He did it!” Steven said.

  “Do it again,” Roy said. “Practice. We have to make sure you can do it.”

  Robbie concentrated again, and the mirror repeated the flash, more quickly than before.

  “He’s activating it,” Steven said, “no question. Just as Judith described.”

  “Is it hard to do?” Roy asked Robbie.

  “No, it’s not hard,” Robbie said.

  “One more time then,” Roy said.

  Robbie closed his eyes and the mirror flashed almost instantaneously.

  “He’s got it,” Steven said, leaving the flow.

  “We’re going to put this mirror in your backpack,” Roy said. “Once you get home, I want you to take it out and put it on the floor in your room. Make sure you don’t break it.”

  “I’m not allowed to have mirrors,” Robbie said.

  Roy and Steven exchanged a glance. “Doesn’t surprise me,” Roy said. He turned back to Robbie. “You’ll keep this one private. In fact, keep it in your backpack until you’re sure no one will come into your room. Then take it out.”

  “What do I do with it?” Robbie asked.

  “Once you’re sure they’re in the room with you,” Roy said, “you activate the mirror the same way I taught you, just like you’ve been doing. It’ll trap them in the mirror. Then you tell your grandma you did it, and she’ll call us. We’ll come take the mirror. It’s very important that you do not break it.”

  “I think it’s going to make them mad,” Robbie said, a little frightened.

  “If you trap them,” Roy said, “they won’t be able to do anything. They’ll be stuck in the mirror, and then we’ll come take them away. You’ll be free of them.”

  “What happens if I break the mirror?” Robbie asked.

  “Then they will get back out,” Steven said.

  “And they’ll be mad,” Robbie added.

  “Yes, probably,” Roy said. “So don’t break it, got it?”

  “Got it,” Robbie said. “Can I go up on deck?”

  “Sure,” Roy said. Robbie smiled and bounced out of the room.

  “I think that’s about as good as we can make it,” Roy said. “How did it look to you?”

  “The last time he tried, he activated it within seconds,” Steven said. “So he knows how to do it.”

  “I’m glad this process is so simple,” Roy said. “If he had to force them into the mirror or something like that, I’d be worried. But the mirror does all the work.”

  “Let’s just hope he doesn’t drop it or crack it somehow,” Steven said. “I’d hate to find out how they’d react.”

  “Come on, let’s go up top,” Roy said. “Looks like Dixon is pulling back into the marina.”

  They all watched from the top deck as Dixon pulled his boat back into the berth and shut down the engine. Then Dixon joined them on the gangway.

  “One hour on the dot!” Dixon said, helping them off the boat.

  “I didn’t get to drive!” Robbie said.

  “You had to get your sea legs first,” Dixon said. “Did you get your sea legs?”

  “I don’t feel dizzy at all!” Robbie said, stepping off the boat with Steven.

  “Then the next time you come,” Dixon said, “we’ll put you behind the wheel.”

  “Alright!” Robbie said. “Thank you!”

  “You’re welcome,” Dixon said. Robbie and Steven turned to walk down the quay.

  “Thanks again,” Roy said to Dixon. “Sorry for the short notice.”

  “Not a problem,” Dixon said. “I’m worried about him though.”

  “The boy?” Roy said, looking at Steven and Robbie walking away from them.

  “Yeah, the boy,” Dixon said. “He’s powerful, but he’s in a heap of trouble. He’s lucky you two are on his case.”

  “If we can get these demons off his back,” Roy said, “he’ll be OK.”

  “I don’t know,” Dixon said. “It’s awfully dark around him. You best be careful yourself.”

  “I better catch up with them,” Roy said. “We gotta get the boy back.”

  “I’m serious,” Dixon said. “Watch yourself.”

  “I will,” Roy said, stepping off the boat. “And thanks again.”

  ◊
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  They dropped Robbie off at his house, token firmly back in hand. They reminded him of the steps to take, and sent him on his way. June waved at them from the front door.

  “Good kid,” Steven said, driving away. “He deserved to be tutored.”

  “Robbie picked up the mirror very quickly,” Roy said. “He’s a natural. He’s got a lot of innate ability. There was something unusual about him, about his ability.”

  “What?”

  “Don’t know for sure,” Roy said, “I was too concerned about making sure he knew how to use the mirror. But when he activated it, part of what was coming from him was different. Different than you and I.”

  “Different?” Steven asked. “How?”

  “Hard to say,” Roy said. “It had a different tone. I don’t know what else to call it.”

  “Maybe it has something to do with his markings,” Steven said.

  “Well, you have the same markings,” Roy said, “and your tone is different than his. Yours, mine, Eliza’s, all the same. His is different. It comes from a different place.”

  “Perhaps that’s what draws the demons to him,” Steven said.

  “Maybe,” Roy said. “It has that kind of feel to it.”

  “Demonic?” Steven asked.

  “Yeah,” Roy said. “Not all of it, just a part of it. Dixon picked up on it too.”

  “Interesting,” Steven said, wondering if part of his own “tone” was demonic as well. Roy said it wasn’t, but he did share the same markings as Robbie.

  When Steven returned home it was beginning to get dark. There was a message for him on his answering machine, from Jason:

  “Dad, listen, I know you don’t want to talk about this, but I need to. I had the same dream last night. And after I woke up, while I was still in bed, I closed my eyes and found myself floating. I saw you and Grandpa Roy, working together on something. I know you know what I’m talking about. So I thought I’d call you and try again to get you to talk to me about it. Call me.”

  Steven sighed. He didn’t want to deal with Jason tonight. He felt neck deep in June Williamson’s problem, and it was coming to a head. I’ll call him tomorrow, Steven thought.

  ◊

  Roy received the call from June the next morning. Steven made a thermos of coffee, then drove over to Roy’s to pick him up. They were at June’s within a half hour of her call.

  “They’re both gone at the moment,” June said. “The mirror’s there,” she said, pointing to the mirror on the sofa.

  Roy picked up the mirror and tucked it under his arm.

  “What did Robbie say?” Steven asked.

  “Not much,” June said. “Just that they were in the mirror, and to call Roy. Oh, and he said he loved the boat trip. He really wants to do it again.”

  “He knows not to tell Evie?” Roy asked.

  “Yes,” June said, “he knows.”

  “Alright,” Steven said. “Thank you. We need to get this mirror out of here.”

  “So the things that have been haunting the house are in the mirror now?” June asked.

  “Yes,” Steven said, “we think so.”

  “Good,” June said. “And if you take the mirror out of the house, they’ll go, too?”

  “That’s the idea,” Roy said.

  “Wonderful,” June said. “I can’t thank you enough.”

  “Keep an eye on him,” Steven said, “and let us know if anything changes. Good or bad.”

  “Will do,” June said.

  Roy tucked the mirror under his jacket and the two of them said their goodbyes to June. Then they got back in Steven’s car and began the drive to Gig Harbor.

  “I hope this is the last time we have to deal with her,” Roy said.

  “Well,” Steven said, “I hope the problem’s resolved, but I wouldn’t mind visiting them again sometime, Robbie especially.”

  “No, not them,” Roy said. “Her. Cucumber lady.”

  “Oh, Judith,” Steven said. “Well, hopefully. As soon as we get this mirror resolved.”

  “Tell you what,” Roy said. “I’ll tutor Robbie, if you start tutoring Jason.”

  “You’re not done tutoring me,” Steven said. “Besides, Evie wouldn’t stand for it.”

  “I’ll do it when Evie’s out, like yesterday. I like the boy. He’s well-behaved, he’s fun, and he reminds me of you, when you were young.”

  “Well, I can’t tell you what to do, but I would appreciate learning how to do a proper trance, if you could spare the time.”

  “It’s only because we’ve been so busy,” Roy said. “Seems like ever since Oregon things have been non-stop.”

  “After we’re finished with this,” Steven said, “when Robbie is fine and the demons are gone, you show me how to trance, then I’ll take you up on your offer.”

  “So you’re ready to show Jason,” Roy said.

  “He called me again last night, left a message. Another dream. And I think he entered the River, without knowing what it was. Said he saw us in it, god knows what we might have been doing at the time. He knows I can help him. He’s insistent. You’re right, I’m not going to be successful delaying him. He wants it now.”

  “Good,” Roy said. “You may find it helps his grades in college, by the way.”

  “Really?”

  “Helped mine.”

  “How? Cheating?”

  “I’d call it ‘enhancing.’”

  “This isn’t helping my decision any,” Steven said.

  “I turned out all right,” Roy said.

  “What, you cheated your way through college? What did you get your degree in?”

  “Forestry. One of the nice things about the gift is it really frees you up as far as a profession is concerned. You can be better than most people in any field.”

  “So your degree is bogus?”

  “No, it’s real. I earned it. Plus I put in another twenty five years with the Forest Service, which is how I learned how fucked up the government can be.”

  “Supplies you with a nice pension check every month,” Steven said. “I don’t see you complaining about that.” Steven knew this was the wrong thing to say, but sometimes he couldn’t resist Roy’s bait.

  “I earned that pension,” Roy said, becoming irritated.

  “And I earned my diploma,” Steven said.

  “All’s I’m saying is that knowing how to use the gift properly will help Jason while he’s in school, not hurt him. It woulda helped you, but there was no getting through to you when you were in college.”

  “No getting through?” Steven said. “I don’t recall seeing you at all when I was in college.”

  “That’s because you hauled off halfway around the country,” Roy said. “And when we did see you, you thought you knew everything already. You were a hard set skeptic at that point, not open to anything unless it came from a professor or your text books. I was never going to convince you of anything. It took Lukas Johansen to open your mind. You should be grateful Jason’s not like you.”

  Steven considered this. Roy was right, there was no way he would have listened to any mumbo-jumbo during those years. His mother’s Christianity had kept him shielded from Roy all the years he was going up, and higher learning had kept the shield going for decades after.

  “I suppose you’re right,” Steven said. “I don’t think I would have believed it if I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes. Jason doesn’t seem to need that.”

  “That’s because you raised him to have an open mind,” Roy said. “And it’s happening to him naturally, as it would have with you, had you been open to it. You worry too much. Meet with Jason and explain it to him.”

  Steven thought about it. Roy had softened him up. Perhaps his plan to wait a year with Jason was more for his benefit than it was for Jason’s. Maybe Roy was right, maybe it would help Jason in school rather than distract him. Jason was different than he had been at that age. He shouldn’t assume he was a carbon copy of himself. Perhaps he could talk to Jason,
and see if he’d promise to complete college if he told him. That could work.

  “Alright,” Steven said, “I’ll consider it. After we finish with June.”

  Chapter Nine

  “I’m sure by now my doorstep and your shadow are great friends,” Judith said as they entered the second floor sitting room. Judith was arranged on the day bed in exactly the same position as they’d seen her on every previous visit. Steven was beginning to think she slept on it overnight.

  “I must apologize for meeting here and for not standing up to greet you,” Judith said. “A touch of my arthritis has come on, and this weather makes it much worse. I’m afraid I wouldn’t even be able to see you if it weren’t for my wonderful medications.”

  “No need to apologize,” Steven said. “We’ve brought the mirror.”

  Judith sat upright, her arthritic-ridden hunch suddenly gone.

  “You haven’t broken it in any way, have you?” she asked.

  “No, it’s fine,” Steven said. Roy handed her the mirror.

  “Would you do me a favor?” she asked Steve, ignoring the mirror. “Get me that cloth you see on the shelf over there? Third shelf from the bottom.”

  Steven walked over the shelves she indicated and hunted for the cloth. It was a red felt square, neatly folded. He brought it to her. She unfolded the cloth, and then turned back to Roy.

  “The mirror, please,” she said, extending her hand with the cloth. “I can’t take the risk of touching it myself. Most demons know me, and several have a score they’d like to settle. This helps keep me anonymous.”

  Roy passed her the mirror, and she looked into it. Steven could tell she had slipped into the River, and might be entering a trance. She turned her face back and forth, as though she sought different angles of view. Her brow furrowed; she looked perplexed. Finally she withdrew from the trance and lowered the mirror.

  “We have a problem,” she said.

  “What?” Steven asked.

  “There are only two demons in here,” she said. “The lantern showed three. The third is still with the child. And worse, it no longer has to battle with these two for control. The demon has the child all to himself now.”