To Stop a Shadow (Spirit Chasers Book 2)

by Carrie Pulkinen

  “His heart did stop beating for a few minutes after the crash,” Logan said. “Maybe his spirit—”

  “Don’t.” Tina shot to her feet. “Don’t even say something like that. Trent didn’t die, and he’s not going to.” Logan was Trent’s best friend. How could he even entertain the idea of Trent…She shook her head. She would not allow her thoughts to go there.

  “If there is a way you can help him, don’t you want to?” Allison said.

  “Of course I do.” She sat on the edge of the bed. “What else did she say?”

  “That’s it. She faded away as soon as I started asking questions.”

  She gazed at Trent’s face. The swelling had receded, leaving only a dark purple bruise beneath his left eye. “How am I supposed to help him if I have no idea what to do?”

  Allison looked at Logan, and he nodded. “We’re going back to the house. To the third floor.”

  “Like hell, we are. Something freaky happens every time I go into that room. And I’m not leaving Trent alone.”

  “He won’t be alone. Logan will stay with him.”

  Tina gave Logan a wary look. “Allison and I are going to the creepy attic alone, and you’re okay with that?”

  He shook his head. “Not really. But Gage is meeting you there.”

  “And you’re okay with that?”

  He sighed and drooped his shoulders. “Gage has always had Allison’s back. He’ll keep you safe.” He shrugged. “Or I’ll kill him.”

  Allison stepped toward Trent and hovered her hands above his head. “He’s already threatened Gage with his life if one of us gets hurt. Though, I hope he wasn’t really serious.” She eyed Logan, and he shrugged again.

  “Why go back? All the ghost has ever said is that I know or that I can help. What makes you think she’ll say anything this time?”

  Allison moved her hands over Trent’s heart and took a deep breath, pausing before she answered. “I think Trent’s condition might be caused by something supernatural.”

  Tina blinked at Logan. “But you said he’s had narcolepsy since he was a kid.”

  “He has.”

  “But it didn’t flare up again until he inherited the house,” Allison said.

  Tina rubbed the back of her neck. “I thought it was stress causing the flare up.”

  “That’s what I thought at first, but some entities are capable of intensifying conditions that already exist, without ever having to make their presence known.”

  Her stomach churned. She closed her eyes and let her breath out slowly. “Please tell me you don’t think it’s the shadow demon. Because, I have to say, I preferred your theory of Trent’s uncle trapping the ghosts. I can deal with humans. I’m growing more accustomed to spirits. I can’t handle demons, Allie.”

  Allison sighed. “Honestly, I don’t know. Some really strong ghosts can do it too. But whatever it is, if we can stop it…If we can save Trent’s life, I’ll do whatever it takes.”

  Tina dropped her arms by her sides. After her dreams and the things she’d seen in the attic…it was time to stop denying it. “I’m going to fight a demon.”

  “Or a ghost. We won’t know until we get there. Go home and take a shower. I’ll pick you up in forty-five minutes.”

  She gazed down at Trent and brushed her fingers across his face. “What if he wakes up and I’m not here?”

  “Believe me, you wouldn’t want him seeing you looking like that,” Allison said. “A toothbrush would do you some good too.”

  She ran a hand through her tangled mess of hair and looked at Logan. “You’ll call me with any news? Even if his pinky finger twitches, I want to know.”

  “I’ve got your number on speed dial.”

  Allison hovered her hands above Trent’s head. “I’ll be there as soon as I’m done with his healing session.”

  “Okay.” She bent down and pressed her lips to Trent’s. “I love you. I promise I won’t be gone long. And if it is a shadow demon doing this to you, I’m going to send that thing straight to hell where it belongs.”

  * * *

  Tina sat in the passenger seat of Allison’s Prius as they rolled up the driveway toward the old Victorian home. The new blue paint and crisp white trim gave the house such a quaint, pleasant feel—a stark contrast to the sinister soul-sucking demon possibly lurking inside. She narrowed her gaze at the third-floor window and grinded her teeth. Whatever was doing this to Trent—whether it was a shadow demon or an evil ghost—she planned to thoroughly kick the entity’s ass and make sure it never stepped foot in that house again.

  How she was going to do that was another issue entirely. That’s where Gage and Allison came in. If it was a ghost, Allison could get rid of it. But if it was a shadow demon, hopefully Gage could tell her what to do.

  And she would do anything to get her man back.

  They pulled up next to Gage’s Jeep and found him sitting on the front porch steps, chewing on the end of a piece of red candy. He stood as soon as they got out of the car and met them on the front lawn.

  “Sorry we’re late,” Allison said. “His treatment took longer than I planned.”

  Gage wrapped Tina in a tight embrace. “No improvement, then?”

  All she could do was shake her head in response. If she tried to talk about Trent’s condition, she’d break down again. And right now, he needed her to stay in ass-kicking mode. His life depended on it.

  She swallowed the sob that tried to creep up from her chest and marched up the steps. “There’s an entity up there that’s messing with my man. Let’s go kill it.”

  Gage picked up his duffel bag and followed her to the porch. “You can’t actually kill something that’s already dead…or was never alive to begin with.”

  She unlocked the door and squeezed the handle. “You know what I mean.”

  “Sure, I do. But it’s not going to be that simple.” He followed her inside and dropped his bag on the table.

  “He’s right, Tina.” Allison set her bag next to Gage’s and pulled out a canister of salt and an ostrich egg-sized quartz crystal. “First we have to figure out exactly what’s causing the problem.”

  “I don’t care what’s causing the problem. I just want it gone.” The first tear spilled down her cheek, and she squeezed her eyes shut to stop the rest of them from flooding her face. She had to hold it together for Trent. He needed her to be Wonder Woman, and, damn it, she was going to pull through for him.

  Allison put her hands on Tina’s shoulders. “We are going to get rid of it, but we need to be careful. One step at a time, okay?”

  Tina nodded.

  “First we’re going to go up there and try to make contact with the spirit that visited me last night. That’s all. Right now, we’re gathering information. Then we’ll form our plan of attack.”

  “Just tell me what to do.”

  Allison handed her the salt canister. “Hold this, and follow me.”

  As they reached the top of the steps, Gage dropped his bag outside the door. “I’ll go in first and take a baseline reading.” He grabbed his Mel Meter and pinned them with a hard look. “Don’t come in until I give you the all clear. And stay away from the stairs. In fact, why don’t both of you go sit in that far corner and wait for me to come out? I value my life, and I don’t need your boyfriend bashing my face in because you fell down the stairs.”

  Allison crossed her arms. “Logan isn’t going to hurt you, Gage.”

  “I’m not taking any chances.” He disappeared through the doorway.

  Tina clenched the cardboard cylinder of salt in her hands. She slipped her fingernail beneath the metal spout, sliding it open and pushing it closed as she tried to keep her breathing under control. “What do we do now?”

  Allison rubbed her hand on Tina’s back. “Give him a few minutes. Then we’ll go in and try to make contact.”

  She shook the half-empty canister in her hands. “You’re using salt this time.”

  “This could be dangerous. Wh
en we go in, I’m going to pour a ring of salt around us. It’s important you stay inside it. If you don’t—”

  “I remember.”

  Gage stuck his head through the doorway. “All right, ladies. I’m getting nothing, as expected. Come on in.”

  Tina clutched Allison’s arm and swallowed the sour taste from her mouth as she entered the attic. Every hair on her body stood on end as she followed her friend to the center of the room. Her palms went slick with sweat, and the salt canister slipped from her hand. She caught it before it spilled on the rug. “Here, Allie. You better hang on to this.”

  Allison took the salt and set the crystal by the window. “The spirits aren’t showing themselves to me, but we can try to call to them. Let me pour a salt ring, and we’ll give it a try.”

  Tina inched her way toward the door. “Does it have to be in the center of the room? Wouldn’t it be safer to do it closer to the exit? Just in case?”

  Allison closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “I feel more strongly about this spot, here in the middle. The energy seems denser here.” She kept her eyes closed and tilted her head to the side. “It almost feels like a gateway. This could be where your ghost friend passes through when she stretches out of her prison.”

  “Hold on.” Gage wedged his shoe under the rug and lifted the edge. “How long has this rug been here?”

  Tina shrugged. “No clue. It was here when we got the place.”

  “Have you looked under it?”

  “Aside from Trent breaking the door jamb, we haven’t done a thing with this room. Every time we’re in here, something freaky happens.”

  He grabbed the edge of the carpet with his hands. “Help me roll it up.” He looked at Allison. “It could be a portal.”

  Allison paled, a look of dread flashing in her eyes before she raced to Gage’s side and helped him roll up the rug. Tina clutched the heavy fabric and together, they folded the rug over on itself, revealing a strange circular pattern scratched into the wood floor beneath. Swirls and strange geometric patterns bordered the outer edge of the circle, and a roughly-sketched pentagram occupied the center of the space.

  Allison took a step back and covered her mouth. “Oh, my God. How could I have missed that?”

  Tina eyed the strange design, and a sickening feeling formed in her stomach. “What is it?” But she knew exactly what it was.

  Gage stepped toward it and ran his hand over the pattern. “It’s definitely a portal. It wasn’t done correctly, though.”

  Tina backed toward the door. “Get away from it, Gage.”

  He chuckled and knocked on the floor. “It’s not like it’s going to suck me in.” He tapped his fist against his chest. “I’m too solid for that.”

  Allison poured a ring of salt on the floor and pulled Tina into it. “Come inside the salt ring anyway. Just in case.”

  He sauntered toward his bag, pulled out a thick, leather-bound book, and flipped through the pages. “I’ll be fine.” He ran his finger across a page and nodded. “Whoever scratched this design into the floor was summoning human spirits. See here.” He pointed to the design on the floor. “These symbols represent the elements, and this one is for soul energy. But they got this one wrong. I’m not sure what they were trying to draw, but that might be why the spirits are trapped here.”

  Goose bumps rose on Tina’s skin. A chill cascaded down her spine as a heaviness grew in the air. Something was happening in this room, but her friends seemed oblivious. “Allie, do you see the ghosts?”

  “Nothing is showing itself to me. What do you see?”

  Her heart sprinted in her chest, and her mouth went dry. “Nothing. I’m just freaking out a little.”

  Allison took her hand. “Take a deep breath.”

  She tried to rake in a breath, but the air was thick. Stagnant. Stale. Her nostrils twitched as the faint scent of something rotten crept into her senses. “Do you smell that?”

  “Just the musty scent of an old attic.”

  Tina scrunched her nose. “I smell something rotten.”

  “Get inside the salt circle, Gage,” Allison commanded.

  “Hold on.” He set some sort of device in the center of the portal. “I don’t smell anything.”

  “Oh, God.” The darkness in the corner of the room moved. A roiling, black fog billowed, folding in on itself as it thickened. “Please tell me you see that.”

  Allison shook her head. “What do you see?”

  Her legs trembled. Her hands shook. How could they not see the giant shadow undulating in the corner? A dense, buzzing energy filled the room. The shutters slammed shut. Then the door. The lightbulb sparked.

  The room went dark.

  “Oh no.” She blinked hard, but it didn’t go away. The dark mass grew, rolling across the floor toward them. “Do you see it now?”

  “No, but I feel it,” Allison said.

  The shadow crept closer. A spark of anger burned in Tina’s chest. If they were going to beat the damn thing, her friends needed to be able to see it. She turned toward the billowing mass and shouted, “Show yourself to them.”

  Allison gasped.

  Gage stumbled and fell on his ass. “Holy shit.” He crab-walked backward toward his bag while the device on the portal went crazy, flashing lights and letting out a high pitch squeal.

  The shadow lengthened, wrapping itself around the device and chunking it into the wall with a crack. A deafening silence followed as the air seemed to be sucked from Tina’s lungs. The shadow grew, thickening into an inky blackness as it rose into a spiraling, vertical column.

  “Gage, move!” Allison shouted, but he sat frozen to the spot.

  It oozed toward him and reached out a spindly tendril of fog, wrapping around Gage’s neck. He clutched his throat, clawing at the shadow, but his fingers passed right through the fog. A horrid gurgling sound emanated from his esophagus as the shadow lifted him from the ground and hurled him across the room. His shoulder slammed into the wall, and he dropped to ground.

  “Gage!” Tina darted toward him and grabbed his arm, pulling him to his feet. Allison caught his other arm, and they both tugged him toward the door. He stumbled, taking Allison down with him.

  The shadow swirled, rolling toward Tina like a freight train. She braced herself for impact and prepared to scream, but it stopped a foot in front of her. The onyx mass folded in on itself, forming into an almost human-like figure. Its featureless face regarded her as she tried to will her legs to move.

  In her peripheral vision, Allison rose to her feet and gasped. The shadow turned toward her, lashing out a tendril to grab her by the arm. Tina screamed and yanked her from the shadow’s grasp. Gage scrambled to his feet and pulled open the door.

  A flood of light from the hallway cut through the room, and with a hiss, the shadow shrank back to the corner. Tina clutched Allison’s hand as the three of them lingered in the doorway. The shadow stayed in the corner, but the heavy, electric energy still buzzed around them.

  “Well, ladies, I think we found its weakness.” Gage strolled into the room like a crazy person and picked up his and Allison’s gear. Pulling a flashlight from his bag, he shined it into the darkened corner, and the shadow receded into the wall. Gage chuckled, flashing the light into each corner before sauntering toward the door.

  “Weakness or not, I want out of this room.” Tina led the way down the stairs, the buzzing energy dissipating the farther they retreated from the attic. By the time she reached the ground floor, no trace of the shadow monster remained, but her heart still raced in a panic.

  She fumbled with the knob on the front door, her sweat-slicked palms sliding across the brass. “Piece of shit, open up.”

  “It’s okay.” Gage peered up the stairwell. “I don’t think it could reach us down here, even if it were dark.”

  Tina flung open the door and pulled Allison onto the porch. “Get outside, Gage. Now.”

  “Oh, all right.” He shuffled onto the porch and pulled the door c
losed. “But it seems to be tied to that room.”

  Tina leaned over the porch railing and heaved in a raspy breath. The crisp winter air stung her eyes, tightening her lungs as she fought to catch her breath. “What the hell just happened?”

  Allison sat on the bottom step and dropped her head in her hands. Gage put his hand on the doorknob.

  Tina stopped him with a sharp look. “Don’t even think about it.”

  “But—”

  “Don’t.” She shook her head and walked down the steps to face Allison. “Are you sure we’re safe out here?”

  She stared at the ground. “Gage is right. It can’t manifest in the light, and it’s tied to the room. More specifically to the portal.” She lifted her head. “The portal I should have picked up on the first time I was here. I’m so sorry, Tina. I’ve never been more wrong about something in my life.”

  Tina sat beside her. “It’s okay. The carpet covered the portal. If I hadn’t been so scared of the stupid room, I’d have removed the rug a long time ago, and then we would have found it.”

  “But I sensed it.” Allison wrung her hands. “Every time I went into that room I was drawn to the center. I should’ve realized there was something there. Gage, you were right about the shadow entity all along, but I didn’t believe it.”

  “Don’t be so hard on yourself.” He dropped onto the step next to Allison. “This is only the second non-human entity I’ve ever encountered too. I probably wouldn’t have believed it either, if I hadn’t done so much research on the damn things.”

  “None of us wanted to believe it.” Tina wrapped her arm around her friend’s shoulders. “The important thing now is that we know what it is. We know what we’re up against, so we can fight it. Right, Gage?”

  “Absolutely. The problem is, we’re going to need Trent to do it. Vanquishing a shadow entity like this requires a blood sacrifice. It’s got to be the blood of the person who summoned it, and since it’s always been Trent’s family living in this house, I can only assume it’s his blood we’ll need.”

  Tina’s chest tightened, her stomach churning at the mere mention of blood. “He’s in a coma.” Tears threatened to spill again as she uttered the words, but she held them back. She had to be strong.