To Stop a Shadow (Spirit Chasers Book 2)

by Carrie Pulkinen

  “Is his dad around? His blood would work too.”

  Allison shook her head. “His parents are snowed in. It could be days before they can get out here.”

  He lifted his shoulders. “We’ll just have to hope he wakes up soon, then.”

  “Wait, Allie, you said the demon was keeping Trent in a coma. If it can’t reach us out here, how can it reach him there?”

  “I don’t think it’s keeping him in the coma, but he was in this house right before the accident.”

  “He never went upstairs.”

  “The shadow can’t manifest in the light,” Gage said. “Meaning it can’t turn into that smoldering smoke monster and kick anybody’s ass. It can still have other effects, though. Its power gets weaker the farther from the portal it stretches. But if Trent already had this condition, it definitely had enough power to aggravate it, even if he was downstairs.”

  She rose to her feet and paced through the yard. “If the demon wants Trent’s soul, and it can obviously attack people when they’re near its nest, why didn’t it kill him when he was up there?”

  Gage stood and leaned against the handrail. “Because evil suckers like that thrive on suffering. The more he suffers before he dies, the more power the entity gets from his spirit when it traps him.”

  Her breath caught. “He’s not going to die.”

  “I know. I was just saying.”

  She clenched her hands into fists so tight, her nails dug into her palms. “Well, don’t just say anything about Trent dying. It’s not going to happen.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  She turned to Allison. “So, there’s a chance he could wake up on his own, even before we kill this shadow thing?”

  “It’s possible. I still can’t figure out exactly what it did to his brain. It disrupted something in the way his body handles sleep, but I can’t seem to unblock it. Maybe if we could send the shadow entity back through the portal, its hold on him would release.”

  “But we need his blood for that,” Gage said.

  “What if we got some of his blood and brought it here? He’s in a hospital. Surely we could manage to sneak a few drops when no one was looking. Bring it here in a vial or something. Would that work, Allie?” Though how she’d keep the contents of her stomach where it belonged in the process, she wasn’t sure.

  “Dealing with demons is not in my wheel house.” She looked at Gage. “What do you think? Would it work?”

  He took a deep breath and rubbed at the scruff on his chin. “I honestly don’t know. It’s worth a shot.”

  “That’s what we’ll do then. We’ll try to get a little of his blood. Then we’ll bring it back here, and Gage can lead us through whatever ritual we need to do to get rid of the thing.” She stopped pacing and rested her hands on her hips. She had a plan. Something she could put into action and do something about. Anything was better than sitting around waiting for Trent to wake up…or worse.

  “There’s something else, though.” Allison stood and smoothed her sweater down her stomach. “When the shadow stopped and looked at you, I was able to get a reading on it. It knows you, Tina.”

  “I’ve spent the past month working on the house. Apparently, we’ve been spending a lot of time together, and I didn’t even realize it.” She shivered at the thought that that thing had been watching her all this time. Invading her dreams. Hurting the man she loved.

  “And you’ve been dreaming about it your whole life. I don’t think those dreams were any sort of premonition. I think you’ve dealt with this entity before.”

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  Logan rose to his feet as Tina and Allison entered the hospital room. Dark circles ringed his reddened eyes, and fresh tears pooled above his lower lids. “You just missed the doctor.”

  Tina rushed to Trent’s side and took his hand in hers. She traced her fingers down the side of his face and brushed her thumb over his lips. Still warm. Still soft. There was no way he was close to death. She sat on the edge of the bed and rested her hand on his chest, watching it rise and fall with his breaths. “What did he say?”

  “The scan was completely normal. No evidence the crash caused any permanent damage to his brain.”

  A knot in her chest released. “The concussion?”

  “Healing like it should. They can’t find any reason why he hasn’t woken up.” He gave Tina’s shoulder a squeeze. “So they’re not sure he will.”

  Not waking up was not an option, and if one more person suggested it, she might not be able to stop herself from punching them. Straightening her spine, she squared her gaze on Logan. “He will. We know why he isn’t waking up.” She told him about the shadow entity and what Gage discovered in his research. “We just need to figure out how to get some of his blood, and then we’ll destroy the shadow and bring Trent back.”

  “In theory,” Allison said. “I still think there’s more to it than that. I’d like to get a better reading on you, Tina, and how you’re connected to the house…to the shadow.”

  “That doesn’t matter. We have to get Trent back first.”

  Logan cut his gaze toward the door. “The doctor said he’s sending in a nurse to draw blood for more testing. Maybe we can convince her to draw an extra vial for us.”

  That sounded way too simple. “I doubt a nurse is just going to give us his blood. It’s probably illegal. Definitely unethical.”

  Logan shrugged. “She will if the price is right.”

  “I don’t like that idea.” Allison stepped around the bed and hovered her hands above Trent’s head. “I don’t want the nurse to risk losing her job. Couldn’t we distract her and take some when she’s not looking? I’d feel more comfortable if we were the wrong-doers.”

  Tina chuckled. “I feel like we’re the cast of Scooby Doo making an overly elaborate plan to stop the shadow monster.”

  Logan sat in the vinyl recliner. “Only, in our episode, we won’t be ripping a mask off the monster at the end and finding out it was really crazy Uncle Jack’s even crazier brother all along.”

  Tina tapped her finger against her chin. “Still, this could work.” She looked at Logan. “Fred, when the nurse comes in, you flirt with her to distract her.” She turned her gaze to Allison. “And Daphne, you swipe a vial of blood while he has her under his spell. Got it?”

  Allison shrugged. “I always considered myself more of a Velma, but okay.”

  Logan crossed his arms. “Fred doesn’t date Velma, and I’m not being Shaggy.”

  “This is definitely a job for Fred.” Tina leaned down and placed a kiss on Trent’s lips. It was a hair-brained idea, but it was the only one she had. She’d make it work.

  Logan eyed her skeptically. “Where will you be while Allison and I are doing all the work?”

  “Over there in the corner, trying not to pass out.”

  The door clicked open, and Tina rose to her feet as a nurse wheeled a cart into the room. She’d never seen this one before. Fresh out of college, with lanky arms and curly red hair, he couldn’t have been more than twenty-two years old.

  He.

  His dark-green scrubs hung on his shoulders like they were a size too big. He stood only a few inches shorter than Logan, but his muscle mass hadn’t quite caught up with his height. Tina pressed her lips together to suppress a smile. They guy had an uncanny resemblance to Shaggy.

  As the nurse approached the bed, Logan lifted his arms and mouthed the words I’m out.

  Fantastic. She couldn’t count on Allison to be the distraction. When it came to flirting, her best friend was definitely more Velma than Daphne. Hell, Scooby would be a better candidate for the job. It was up to Tina. Which meant she’d have to get close to the blood.

  Her stomach churned as she moved away from the bed to give the nurse access to Trent’s arm. His cart held crates of vials in various sizes and a stack of labels with bar codes. He typed something into the computer and scanned one of the labels.

  Allison widened her eyes and jerked her
head toward the man as if to say, “Get on with it.”

  She swallowed the sour taste from her mouth and stepped toward the nurse. “Hi there. What’s your name?”

  He fumbled with the scanner and nearly dropped it on the floor. “Uh, Steve.” He set the scanner next to the computer and applied a label to a vial.

  “My name’s Tina.”

  His Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed.

  “Why do you have so many different sizes of containers?” She ran her hand over the top of a box of vials and batted her lashes at Steve.

  Obviously unaccustomed to flirting, his mouth opened and closed a few times before he formed words. “Different tests require different amounts of sample.”

  She rested a hand on his shoulder. “Wow. How do you keep it all straight? You must be really smart.” She cringed inwardly. Hopefully, if Trent really could hear them, he also heard the plan and knew this was just a distraction.

  “Tina, stop flirting with the man and let him do his job.” The smile behind Allison’s voice was evident, but luckily, Steve was too nervous to catch on.

  “It’s not my fault, Allie. Whenever I see an attractive man, I can’t help but flirt.” Jeez, Louise, I sound like a bimbo. She dropped her arm to her side and took half a step away.

  “It’s okay.” Steve glanced into her eyes but quickly shifted his gaze to the vial in his hand. He cleared his throat. “I’ll just…get on with it.”

  Steve attached the first container to Trent’s IV, and a gush of redness flooded into the glass. Tina’s head spun at the sight.

  She bit her bottom lip and squeezed her eyes shut. “How many of those do you have to draw?”

  He looked at the computer screen. “Four. Are you okay? You look a little pale.”

  “I’m fine. I just get a little nervous around attractive men.”

  He glanced at Logan and furrowed his brow.

  “That one’s spoken for, so he doesn’t count.” She managed a grin, and Steve smiled in return.

  He put the first vial into a rack on the cart and started to draw the second sample. All the blood in Tina’s head seemed to plummet to her feet as the offending liquid pooled into the container. Her stomach lurched, and she covered her mouth with her hand.

  Steve put the second vial on the cart and turned toward her. “You don’t look well.”

  “I’m okay.” Her knees buckled.

  The nurse caught her by the arm and lowered her into a chair. He pulled a small flashlight from his pocket and shined it into each of her eyes. “Either you’re sick or you can’t stand the sight of blood. Which is it?”

  Her stomach twisted, and she swallowed before the saltines Allison had forced her to eat this morning could make a reappearance. “Blood.”

  He laughed and straightened his spine. “I’m almost done. Do you want to wait in the hall?”

  “I’ll stay. I just won’t watch.”

  “If you insist.” He turned back to his cart and paused. “I could’ve sworn I already drew two samples.”

  Allison shook her head, her expression as guilty as a teen caught sexting with her boyfriend. “I only saw you do one.” She cut her eyes to the left and gave him a tight-lipped smile. Man, she was a terrible liar.

  He sighed and shook his head. “I guess I did then.”

  Steve picked up another vial and drew more blood, and Allison slipped the stolen sample into her purse. A bead of sweat rolled down her forehead, and she wiped her palms on her jeans. The poor girl looked like she’d pass out herself.

  “All done. You can look now.” Steve stood by his cart, staring at Tina as if waiting for her to say something else.

  “Okay. Well, you have a nice day, Steve.”

  He nodded his head and mumbled, “You too,” as he wheeled his cart out the door.

  Tina sat up straight and tentatively scooted to the edge of the chair. Thankfully, the room didn’t spin. Her meager lunch stayed in her stomach. “He was sweet. I feel bad for flirting with him.”

  Logan chuckled. “Don’t. You probably made his day.”

  Allison picked up her purse. “I texted Gage. He’s going to meet us at the house.”

  “And bring lights? A lot of them?” The concern in Logan’s voice was evident.

  Allison wrapped her arms around his waist. “We’ll be safe. I promise.”

  He closed his eyes for a long blink. “I want to come with you.”

  Tina shook her head. “Someone has to stay with Trent. If he wakes up…”

  “Then you stay. I’ll go with Allison and Gage. You can’t handle the blood anyway.”

  “No way. Allie says the shadow knows me. And it’s personal. I’m going to kick its ass and send it back to hell for what it’s done to Trent.”

  Allison pulled from his embrace and cupped his cheek in her hand. “And given what Gage has researched about this type of entity, you would be in more danger than Tina or me. It magnifies pre-existing conditions. You’ve worked so hard to get your OCD under control. I would hate to see it intensify because of this thing.”

  He clutched her hand and held it to his chest. “It could still hurt you both.”

  Tina swung her purse over her shoulder. “I’m as healthy as a horse and mad as a honey badger. It’s not getting a piece of me.”

  “As long as we keep it from manifesting, it won’t hurt us. And Gage promised to bring plenty of light to keep it in check.” She kissed his cheek. “Trust me?”

  “Always. But I still worry.”

  “I’ll call you as soon as we’re done.” She looked at Tina. “Ready?”

  Tina cast one more longing glance at the man she loved and squared her shoulders toward the door. “Let’s do this.”

  * * *

  Tina sat in Allison’s passenger seat, clenching and unclenching her fists, watching the veins in her wrist protrude and recede with each movement. This ritual required blood, and she’d nearly fainted watching it fill the vial at the end of Trent’s IV. Would she be able to stay conscious when Allison poured it onto the portal to complete the ceremony?

  She’d figure something out. She’d close her eyes or turn her back to the portal when it happened. Trent needed her, and there was no way she’d let him down.

  She looked at her friend. “You still have the blood?”

  Allison patted her purse. “I can show it to you if you don’t believe me.”

  “That’s okay.” She wiped her sweaty palms on her jeans. “I’m scared, Allie. I was terrified when we helped the ghost in Logan’s house cross over, and she was just a human. This thing is an evil…God knows what it actually is. I’m scared shitless.”

  “We could wait. Give Trent a little more time to wake up on his own. See if we can figure out your connection to the entity.”

  “No. I can’t sit around doing nothing. I want to get rid of this thing.” She glanced in the rearview mirror and let out an impatient sigh as Gage’s black Jeep approached from the road. “Finally.”

  Tina clambered out of the car and marched toward his Jeep. She yanked the door open before he cut the engine and fisted her hands on her hips. “What took you so long?”

  He grabbed a backpack from the passenger seat. Without responding, he shoved the bag into her arms, slid out of his seat, and paced to the back of the vehicle to get another larger bag. “I was gathering supplies. And I stopped by the library.”

  She followed him around the car. “Seriously? You decided to pick up the latest Dean Koontz novel on your way here?”

  He rolled his eyes. “Hardly. I’ve read them all.”

  Allison met them in the driveway. “Is something wrong?”

  “No. I wanted to double-check my research. Make sure we’re performing the right ritual, so we don’t end up inviting something even nastier over to our side.” He marched toward the front porch, and Allison followed.

  Tina couldn’t make her legs move. “Wait. That could happen?”

  Gage paused on the steps. “If we do it wrong, it c
ould.”

  “Allie?”

  Allison stood beside Gage. “I’m not going to sugar-coat it, babe. This could go terribly wrong.”

  “Jeez Louise.” She slung Gage’s backpack over her shoulder and trudged toward the porch. What had she gotten herself into? If someone had told her their plan could backfire and they could end up inviting another monster into their realm…Well, what difference would it have made? She had to help Trent, and this was the only way she knew how.

  She looked at Gage. “And you aren’t the slightest bit scared?”

  “Nah. I’ve never been afraid to go after what I want.” He cast a glance toward Allison. “But I do know when to quit if the goal is unattainable. If this doesn’t work, my advice is to board the place up and never step foot inside again.”

  “It’s going to work.” She brushed past her friends and unlocked the front door. Stepping into the foyer, she hung her coat on the rack and patted the top of the stand. “Don’t worry. I’ll bring him back to you soon.”

  Gage stepped through the door, followed by Allison. “I’ll go in first and get the lights set up. There won’t be a dark corner or crevice anywhere in the room when I’m done.”

  “But we’ll all be inside a salt ring, just in case.” Allison glared at Gage.

  “You don’t have to tell me twice,” he said. “I’ve experienced what this thing can do.” He handed them each a sheet of paper. “This is the incantation. We’ll all say it in unison. Hopefully three are more powerful than one.”

  “The number three holds a lot of power,” Allison said. “It’s sacred in many belief systems.”

  Gage nodded. “Then we’ll each pour one drop of Trent’s blood onto the portal.”

  Tina whimpered. She wasn’t sure she could handle looking at it in the vial, much less pouring it herself. “Allie…”

  “It’s okay. I’ll pour the three drops myself. Tina’s scared of blood.”

  Gage stifled a laugh. “Okay then. Three people doing the incantation. Repeat it three times. Three drops of blood on the portal, and that should do it. Wait here. I’ll call you up when I’m ready.”