Star follows me in. It’s dark and I have to let my eyes adjust. How did I forget to check on him? Marcus is still nowhere to be seen, but he’s probably somewhere close by. Moving to the bed, I feel a renewed surge of panic. How could I go on a date when I may have only hours left with my brother? Beating myself up really doesn’t help anything, so I take a deep breath and sit on the bed next to him. He’s stretched out on his side and breathing deeply. If he’s asleep I know he wasn’t doing his drug of choice, crystal meth, which would keep him wired through the entire night. I blame the meth for most of the changes I’ve seen in Jared lately. It’s been a huge relief to see him acting more like his normal self again.
“Jared?” I nudge his shoulder.
He doesn’t answer. I look over at Star. “Did he say anything to you? Is he sick?”
“He said when he wakes up, he’s going to write a song with me that will rule the world.”
“That sounds like my brother.”
Jared rolls onto his back and begins to snore as if he’s entrenched in heavy slumber. I make a mental note to check on him later, then I rise to leave. “Hey Star, thanks again. I guess I won’t have to move out now.”
She sits down on the other side of the bed and yawns into her hand. “Don’t mention it. Night, Jules.”
I cross the hall and walk back into my room. How can I sleep now? My body certainly wants to, but my brain has its own agenda. The prickles of unease rise again and I decide to go downstairs and collect my things from the kitchen table. I clean up my mess and take a couple of deep breaths. I saw the spirit leave, so what’s stopping me from going to bed?
A few minutes later, I curl up on my bed with all my pillows tucked protectively around me and the lights on. Before I have a chance to decide if I should even attempt to close my eyes, Star walks in, hair mussed on one side, and bleary-eyed.
“Jared’s a bed hog. Do you mind?”
I don’t have a chance to answer before she sprawls out next to me. She takes one of my pillows, puts it under her head and goes straight to beddy-bye. I stare into the hall and back over at Star, settled and cozy as she drifts further into dreamland. Envy is such an unattractive emotion, but how can she evict a ghost and sleep right afterward?
Sliding off the bed, I leave and grab a spare blanket, and settle in my chair with my notebook and pen ready to hold a vigil until the sun comes up. The longer I sit and stare at the paper the more incapable I am of writing anything new. I lay my head back against the velvet and let my eyes rest.
Unsure if it’s the notebook sliding off my lap or the popping sound of the light bulbs going out but something alerts me. I jerk my head forward, wide-eyed and at full attention. I must have dozed off. Disconcerted and aware that two bulbs don’t normally burn out at the exact same time isn’t nearly as scary as the strange girl sitting on my bed. The small lamp on my nightstand is still on lighting up the corner of my room.
The heart-shaped face and delicate angles of jaw and nose give her away immediately. Star’s sister, Brinna, watches her sleeping sibling with longing and melancholy painted on her face. If I didn’t already know she was dead I would think she just happened to stop by, but the lack of an aura gives her away. My gaze shifts to the door. Could I get out of here without Brinna knowing I can see her?
As silently as possible, I begin to unwrap myself from the blanket and rise to my feet. I don’t know what Star’s deceased sister is doing here, and I don’t want to know. A small clattering sound near my foot stops me. I think it’s the pen hitting the floor, but I don’t look. Instead, I make the mistake of glancing over at my bed. Brinna’s eyes connect with mine, but I don’t let that stop my escape attempt. I race toward the door, but spirits are faster than clunky humans. She blocks my exit. I can’t stomach the idea of walking through someone so I freeze. Busted.
“You can see me, can’t you?” she says, with stunned disbelief.
I have nowhere to go. I’m trapped in my room. Panicking to put space between us, I bump the corner of my trunk with my shin.
“Ow, ow, ow,” I say and jump up and down on my good leg and fall onto my bed, rubbing at the new bruise.
This has the obvious effect of waking up Star.
She pushes herself up and raises a hand to block the light from the lamp. “You know, you and your brother both suck to sleep with,” she says, then flops down and rolls over.
“Star?” Brinna says. “Oh man, this is so unbelievable.”
When I don’t respond, Brinna kneels in front of me. “Please, please, I’m begging you to tell her I’m here.”
I back up, pulling my feet away to put as much space between me and the spirit. I cover my ears with my hands. I don’t want to hear her. I don’t want her speaking to me.
“Wake her back up,” Brinna says with a hint of hysteria in her voice. “What’s the matter with you? Do you think you’re dreaming? Because you’re not.”
If you think seeing a ghost in your house is freaky, try being yelled at by one. Somehow I manage to shake Star with my hand.
“Jules, I like you, but I’m sort of into your brother,” Star mumbles into the pillow.
I yank my hand away as I realize I just grabbed Star’s butt. “Brinna is here?” I manage to squeak.
I can’t look over at the anxious twenty-something-year-old spirit. Just knowing she’s right next to me is bad enough. There’s an unnatural stillness next to me, then Star slowly turns over and sits up.
“What did you just say?”
“Your sister wants to talk.”
“You’re joking right?”
“I wish.”
“This is so awesome,” Brinna says and moves onto the end of the bed. I pull my knees up even higher trying to make my body as small as possible.
“Tell her I’m so proud of her for continuing with the band.”
I relay the message.
“Stop messing with me, Jules. You’re not being funny.”
“She has a beauty mark on her right cheek and her voice gets higher pitched the more excited she is. You look alike, but her eyes are blue. And she’s pushy,” I say, resigning myself to this uncomfortable situation.
“Hey,” Brinna says in defense.
I bury my face against my knees and wait. What has happened to me? I used to be a quiet college student who worked in her grandmother’s herb store and hung out at shows on the weekends. Now I’m dating an Angel of Death, trying to keep my brother alive, and transmitting messages from dead people.
“If she’s here, why can’t I feel her in the room?” Star asks.
“I don’t know,” I say not hiding my exasperation.
“We’re too close,” Brinna answers. “Emotions get in the way.”
“She says you’re too close to each other and emotions get in the way,” I repeat, wondering why my emotions aren’t helping me. High heaven must know I’m nearly hysterical.
Star appears to digest this answer and says, “Tell her I miss her so much.”
“She’s right here. She can hear everything.”
“Where?”
With a hesitant finger I point at the end of the bed where Brinna is sitting teary-eyed, but also so happy I start to relax slightly. Maybe I can do this.
They exchange news about their family and other personal details which are harmless and leave me feeling like some kind of new age transmitter. I feel like an intruder when Brinna asks Star about her therapy appointments and her medication. Star didn’t seem to want to talk about it and when Brinna pushed the importance of continued therapy, Star agreed to take her sister’s advice. Things became more emotional as Brinna says it’s time to leave.
“Wait,” Star says.
“I only have a few seconds,” Brinna says and I translate for her.
“Auntie Viv stepped down as high priestess. She wants to be solitary now. Did you know?”
“No, I didn’t.”
“The esbat is coming up and they’ll initiate the next priestess. They’ll
probably ask me to leave the Grove and finally join the coven. Should I do it?”
“Lammas? The harvest festival is here already?” she asks and dismisses the thought to continue. “You’re traveling so much these days, Star. Can you really be a valuable member to the coven? Trust yourself on this decision. You’ll know what to do, and don’t stop taking your meds. The herbs didn’t do anything to help you before. I’m out of time, sis. Love you.”
I relay the last message and Brinna moves in closer on the bed. I think she’s going to try to hug her sister. I had gotten so used to her by this time I didn’t think much of it. All of a sudden I’m caught completely off guard as Brinna moves right over on top of me. The pressure is incredible, like being sucked through a straw and I don’t have time to react before I feel my body moving to hug Star.
“Take care, Starlight.” The words come out of my mouth, but it isn’t me speaking.
I come unglued and jump off the bed, pushing Star away. I land heavily on the floor and fight against the spirit inside my body. Brinna leaves without much effort, the pressure evaporates like mist. I shake like a wet dog and scream, then move to get to my feet under me. I brush my hands all over my body like I can wipe away any residue of Brinna being inside me.
“What?” Star asks, confused and looking upset.
“She was inside me,” I screech.
“Yeah, that was wild.”
“No!” I shriek. It was too much like being possessed. Star doesn’t know what it’s like to be taken over by an unwanted spirit, let alone by a horrible penis-hungry, energy-sucking succubus. I do, and I can never have that happen again! “She can’t do that!”
“It was harmless. That was incredible, Jules. You have no idea how amazing that was.”
“I was right here the whole time,” I say, feeling disgusted and not thrilled about any part of the visit.
“Wow. Where’d she go? Is she still here?”
I gape at Star. How could she still want more? I played along and now I know I will never volunteer to do that again. It could be never-ending. What if everyone wanted to speak to a dead relative?
“She’s gone,” I say flatly. Star doesn’t know my history. She doesn’t know I nearly lost my life to a succubus, or that I was strangled by a vicious ghost inhabiting a meth-crazed drug dealer.
“Oh,” she says, disappointed. “Will she come back?”
I lean against the wall and watch as Star deflates and falls apart.
“It’s not fair, you know? She was the prettier one. My parent’s favorite. We were more than sisters. She was my…everything.”
Star stares down into her lap and I wait impatiently while she sorts through the fresh emotions.
“I don’t want to be alive without her.” To the room, she says, “Come back, please.”
Her feelings are catching and I begin to see my future self. Wishing I had more time with Jared. One more shared laugh, or one more song written together. The abyss of pain is endless. The devastation is beyond repair. How do you let go of people in your life when they are your life? Is it possible to lose a piece of yourself and be okay afterward? I close my eyes to the sadness of it all.
A realization hits me and I begin to imagine maybe I’ll be able to talk to Jared after he passes. I saw Brinna just now and I see Marcus and Nathaniel. But then again, Star said she couldn’t feel Brinna in the room. What was the reason she said? Because they were too close and emotions get in the way? Why would that be? I tuck the question away to re-examine later.
My attention returns to Star, then I sense movement in the room. At first I think Brinna has returned, but it takes all of a millisecond to realize the feeling in the room is completely different. There was nothing malicious or heavy feeling when Brinna was here, and now there is.
They swoop in from the ceiling by my closet. They’re black and wispy but also have form and density. I’m frozen with terror, and Star is too caught up in her own sadness to pay attention to me as I begin shaking from head to toe. An unnatural opening is growing across my ceiling. It’s a void of darkness that spreads like a water stain. The entities in the room grow larger and begin circling me. They’re familiar, but I’m near comatose with fright and can’t place them.
When one gets close enough it nearly brushes my cheek and an icy burn moves across my skin I realize what they are. Night Terrors. Demons like the ones controlled by the warlock, Travis Dawson. They’re evil souls that suck the life out of people. I had no idea what happened to them after the angel, Harmony, tempted them away, and I didn’t care. They were gone and that’s all that mattered. They hover around me and swoop through my room causing the temperature to drop. They look different somehow than when they were with Travis, not as solid, but they are still terrifying beyond comprehension.
“Jules?”
I can’t answer her. I can’t move. If one of them touches me, it will burn. It will eat me. They will steal my soul. They’re…here. What are they doing here? My heart hammers inside my chest and my legs and arms start to go numb.
“What’s going on?”
One of the demons circles wider and sweeps over the top of my dresser. My potted plants crash to the floor.
Star screams and jumps out of the bed, accidentally knocking me over. As she clambers to get away, she trips over my leg and lands on top of me.
“Marcus!” I scream as I untangle my limbs from Star’s. I don’t know what else to do, but calling for the angel who I know is close by seems logical.
We scramble to our feet and run for the door, but I see them, and they see me, and they’re not going to let me leave unscathed.
I yank Star’s arm, pulling her back, just before walking into one of the nightmares blocking our exit.
“Let go,” she screams, but I don’t.
“It’s right there,” I yell back at her and she stops fighting me.
“What did you do?” she accuses.
“Nothing! What did you do? Why are they here?”
Then Marcus is in the room with us. He takes over the space, filling my room with his large body, but more with his powerful presence.
“You never stop surprisin’ me, Juliana,” he says as he takes in the demons circling the room.
The Terrors appear to have a dislike for Marcus and they move back to the corners, some even leave. One of them lingers, it feels bolder than the rest. It flies around my room, coming within inches of Marcus, then dives into my closet. Clothes come off their hangers and boxes fly from the top shelf and crash onto the floor.
“Harmony Allistair,” Marcus calls out. “Some help would be mighty appreciated.”
Marcus is calm, but demanding, at least compared to my near hysterics. I can only imagine what Star is going through. She’s sensitive, but she doesn’t see what I see.
“Who’s Marcus?” she asks.
“He’s here helping,” I say.
Her eyes dart around my room and when the herbal sachet flies out of my closet and hits the wall on the other side, she takes that as her cue to run.
Just as I’m about to follow, I see Harmony appear, her dark cloak pulled up over her blonde hair. She’s raging and beautiful as she immediately starts fighting. I don’t pause long enough to say hello. The demon screeches with a sickening hiss. It’s my turn to exit stage right. My feet move like they were on fire.
At the bottom of the stairs, I crash into Star. She grabs my shoulders to steady me. I’m not sure what I should be doing in this circumstance, but staring into Star’s joyful face isn’t what I would expect. Getting the hell out of here seems more appropriate.
Her eyes are bulging from their sockets and I feel her hands shaking. “Shit! Are you always this extreme?” she asks.
I close my eyes for a second, searching for an ounce of control over the incredible urge to yell profanities in her face.
“Your brother rocks, but you’re like some kind of bohemian preternatural ghost girl.”
She lets go of my shoulders and begins la
ughing like this is some great party trick. Unbelievable. I’m speechless. I stare into the kitchen and see the second hand ticking around the dial on the new old clock. I clench my teeth together and spin around, taking the stairs two at a time. My body flinches as I hear something crash and break from inside my bedroom. Nothing in this world could get me to step a foot in there, but I’m not concerned about my room right now. I raise a shaky hand and push Jared’s door open.
Whatever happens, ghosts or demons on the loose, I can’t leave Jared to face it alone.
“Jared, wake up right now.”
When he doesn’t stir, I reach down and throw back the blanket. He’s not in his bed. Panic seizes me around the throat and I feel like I’m choking. Where is my brother! I hear an awful retching sound coming through the wall from the direction of the bathroom.
It takes exactly one second for me to be at the bathroom door. The heaving roar followed by the splash of water makes me step into the bathroom with little more than a quick, “I’m coming in.”
Jared hugs the toilet bowl in an intimate and unpleasant embrace. He turns his head to look at me as I flip on the light. He winces, and turns back to his porcelain companion. He’s whiter than I have ever seen him and it makes my own blood drain from my face.
I throw myself down next to him and brush his sticky hair away from his cheek. “What’s wrong, J?”
He doesn’t answer. His eyes are closed and his lids flutter. Another wave of vomit comes up. I turn my face and swallow my rising bile.
“It’s hard, but you must let him go through it,” Marcus says.
He fills the entire doorway to the bathroom.
Having reached my breaking point, I snap, “Aren’t you busy with my other problem?”
“It’s taken care of for now. Harmony’s a wonder of the spirit world.”
That brings some relief, but then Jared groans and leans away from the toilet to rest his head on the edge of the bathtub.
“Tell Marcus to go shit bricks in Bangladesh. I have an album to record,” Jared says.
His voice sounds raw and it makes my throat hurt with sympathy.
Haunting Me (An Angel Falls Book 3) Page 11
