by Apryl Baker
His aqua eyes burn with madness and I am lost in them still. They are tortured and haunted. I long to cup his cheek and tell him everything will be okay, but I cannot do that this time.
“Cold,” I mumble. “So cold.”
“Shh, sweetheart,” he soothes. “It is almost done. Just close your eyes and sleep, my love. Just sleep. All is well.”
An arm grabs me and shakes me. Scared and confused, I turn and look straight into a pair of aqua eyes. I don’t blink, but hit him as hard as I can. When he crashes to the ground, I start, coming awake. I see Eli sprawled on the ground, his nose bloody and fire spitting from his eyes.
“I’m so sorry!”
“What the hell?” he demands.
My hands are shaking and it’s all I can do not to run. His eyes look like those of the man who’d just stabbed me. My hand clutches my side. It still hurts even though there is no wound there. My chest burns with pain as well. I stumble and fall backwards, Eli’s plate crashing to the floor of the porch. My breath comes out in short gasps. It hurts to breathe.
Eli approaches me as you would a wild animal, slowly and with a great deal of caution. “What happened?”
“I…I don’t know,” I answer honestly. “I came out to find you, but I wasn’t here, I was somewhere else. I was someone else.”
“Explain.”
I shake my head, trying to clear it. “I was running through the trees, running from my…my husband. He wanted me dead.”
“Mattie, you’re not making sense.”
“Don’t you think I know that?” I glare, still clutching my side. “All I know is that it was as real as you are when he killed me.”
“You had a vision?” the Doc exclaimed from the doorway. “Tell me.”
I went into as much detail as I could, leaving out only that the man had aqua eyes the color of Eli’s. I’m not sure why I didn’t tell the Doc about that, but it isn’t something I want to share.
“Maybe taking away one of your senses enhanced another one,” the Doc says softly. “By quelling the voices, we may have opened another way for them to communicate to you. You felt this woman die, like it was you?”
I nod, groaning on the inside. I go from having them hammering away at my skull to actually making me live out how they died? Just freaking awesome!
“Doc, I don’t remember reading about any deaths in this house like that,” Eli tells him thoughtfully.
“No, neither do I,” he agrees, “but you remember me telling you how different Mattie is?”
He nods.
“She’s like a beacon to spirits. There’s an invisible light around her that calls to them. Her essence, her soul if you will, is made up of ghost energy. They flock to her like bees to honey. I’m not surprised she’s experiencing things outside this house.”
Eli stares at me with an almost grudging respect. Bully for me.
“Mattie, why don’t you go get some sleep,” the Doc suggests. “It’s late and you need to rest after everything you’ve been through.”
I am tired, more tired than I’ve ever been in my life, but I still need to talk to Eli to apologize for not hitting him once, but twice already.
“I will in a few minutes,” I assure the Doc, “but I need to talk to Eli first.”
“You gonna hit me again?” he asks warily.
“No, not if you don’t deserve it,” I tell him.
“I didn’t deserve it the first two times!”
The Doc snorts and turns around, going back inside and closing the door. Brownie points to the Doc for knowing when to leave.
“I know that,” I tell him softly. “That’s why I came looking for you. I wanted to apologize for the beat down you got.”
“You barely scratched me,” he denies.
“Whatever.” I ignore the bloody nose he has at the moment from my last punch. “I just wanted to say I’m sorry. I know you didn’t deserve it, but you startled me, and where I grew up, you learn to hit first before you get hit.”
“Doc said you grew up in the foster care system,” Eli says.
I nod and take a seat on the old fashioned porch swing. “Yeah, it wasn’t a pleasant childhood.”
“My friend was in foster care.” Eli sits down beside me and that strange feeling starts to stir in my stomach. I get a little nauseous and it concerns me. “He said it wasn’t bad though, he got placed with nice folks.”
“There are some really good ones,” I agree, “but for the most part I ended up in ones where the parents only cared about the money the kids brought in every month. Some of them weren’t bad, they at least left us alone and fed us, but some of them…” My mind shudders from some of the memories. “Let’s just say we didn’t walk away from those without scars.”
I self-consciously rub my hands. This was a scar I’d live with forever. I’d been fooled into thinking Mrs. Olson cared about us and not the check. Little did I know she was a freak with split personalities who killed kids.
“I’m sorry.”
“I don’t want your pity,” I tell him, “I just wanted to apologize. It’s not something I’d normally do.”
“I can tell.” He laughs. “You sound like you’re choking when you say the word.”
He’s right about that. I hate apologizing.
Eli shifts on the swing and I become even more aware of him. It’s like all the nerve endings in my body are firing to life and I want to move closer, but at the same time, every warning bell I have is going off, screaming at me to run. It’s the weirdest sensation ever.
“So you guys can only see a ghost if it’s evil?” I ask to distract myself from my body’s reaction to him.
“Not evil, only the ones that have gone all vengeful spirit,” he clarifies. “There are two types. When someone dies violently, they typically hang around wanting revenge. Then you have the ones that are confused, and the longer they stay on this plane, the more confused, sad, and angry they become. When they reach the point where anger is all they feel, they start to hurt people to make them hurt like they do. When they start hurting people, that’s when we get involved.”
My thoughts immediately turn to Eric. “Does every ghost who doesn’t cross over become a vengeful spirit?”
“Yeah, eventually they all do. They can’t help it.”
“Is there any way to stop a ghost from becoming vengeful?”
“Why?” he asks, his eyes intent as they stare at me.
“I have a friend that’s a ghost,” I tell him. How could I protect Eric from himself? I’d seen what he could do when he spooked out. Thinking about it still terrifies me slightly.
“What?” Eli yells. “Mattie, you have to stop talking to her, she could kill you when she goes off the deep end.”
“Eric would never hurt me,” I tell him. “He saved my life.”
“He will hurt you eventually,” Eli disagrees. “He won’t be able to stop himself. When that happens we’ll have to track him down and take care of him.”
“You hurt one hair on his head and I’ll beat you bloody!” There’s no way Eli will ever get near Eric.
“You could try.”
“I think I’ve already done more than try,” I tell him, giving him glare for glare.
“You’re a vicious little thing, aren’t you?” he asks, shifting closer.
“Yeah, I am,” I say, shifting closer myself.
We’re almost nose to nose when we both still, feeling the massive temperature drop that swoops down upon us. A knife appears in his hand and he stands up warily, looking around.
My eyes are locked on the other end of the porch. That same…thing that had been in my room and outside the restaurant, is staring at me. Its body jerks and brings it closer. My breath hitches a notch. That thing touched me before and I almost died. It wasn’t getting near me again.
“Eli,” I whisper.
“I see it,” he says grimly, his grip on the knife tightening. “Let’s get inside, Mattie.”
“It’s not going to let
us inside,” I tell him. I can feel the malice coming from it.
“DAD!” Eli yells at the top of his lungs. “DEMON!”
It screeches and three jerks later it barrels down on us. Eli slashes at it with his knife. The blade slices through it, making it appear to shatter. It disappears and I sigh in relief, but then I feel its putrid breath on my neck and I scream Eli’s name, realizing it didn’t die like I assumed.
It laughs, the sound a sickening rasp before it grabs me.
Chapter Twelve
The smell of rotten eggs fills my nose. I try to drag air into my lungs, but I can’t. Laughter fills my ears and rage pours into me. It’s not my rage, but this thing’s. It enjoys my pain, my desperation.
My knees buckle and we go down. Its arms wrap tighter around me and I can feel the noose around my neck tighten. Black spots start to appear around the edge of my vision. Eli is shouting, but I can’t hear him around the buzzing in my ears. It is the voices of all the ghosts wailing in fear.
Focus, I tell myself, trying to stem the sheer terror overwhelming me. I’m not going out like this. No way do I survive everything I’ve been through only to die by the hands of this stinky demon.
“Mattie!”
Dan? I see him running up the steps, coming straight for me. NO! I don’t want him hurt. I struggle harder and the black ooze creeps up my arms, around my throat, turning from a liquid to a solid. It feels like fingers strangling me. Dan is almost here and I fight harder, my need to save him stronger than the need to save myself.
Something inside snaps and the black spots around my vision disappear. My body grows calm and I can feel the cold seep in. It’s like thousands of ghosts are descending and latching on. The cold goes bone deep, so deep it burns. On the very edge of my vision I see a light begin to grow and thicken, feel something start to build up inside. It’s like I’m gathering all the cold into me and the more it grows, the calmer I become.
I hear a blast, like a gunshot and then I’m falling forward, trying to catch myself, but Eli is there, catching me before my face hits the floor. He yanks me up and literally throws me to his brother. He’s holding a shotgun and slowly turning in all directions.
“Behind you!” I shout, but he is already falling and twisting, bringing the gun up and firing. The shot hits the creature square in the chest and it explodes, flying into a thousand tiny wisps of smoke. My eyes widen. That’s the same thing it did in my bedroom.
“Are you okay?” Caleb asks me, concerned I guess, because I’m coughing. That’s the second time that thing has nearly choked me. It won’t get a third try.
“Dear God, Mattie!” Dan yanks me out of Caleb’s arms and wraps me in one of those bear hugs of his. “Are you okay? Did it hurt you?”
For five seconds, I bask here in his arms, then I remember what he did to me and I withdraw. He feels the change and pulls back, chagrin in his eyes and on his face.
“I’m fine,” I tell him and step away, closer to Eli. As much as it hurts, I need to put distance between us. Dan hurt me more than anyone has in a long time. I haven’t felt like this since waking up alone in a hospital and realizing my mom tried to kill me.
I want to curl up and cry like a baby and it’s not even stemming from the fact that he and Meg are seeing each other. I figured that out on the plane. He lied, kept this from me, and I trusted him. Everyone in my life has lied to me and I thought Dan would never be one of them. He’s supposed to be my rock, my anchor, the one person I can trust. He promised me he’d always be there for me and then he went behind my back and betrayed me. How could he?
Caleb growls and before I know it, a wall of muscles is in front of me. He and Eli had moved as one to stand in front of me. Dang, Eli has a cute butt! That random thought pops into my head, causing me to frown. Now where did that come from?
“What are you two doing?” I demand. You can smell the testosterone in the air. I swear…boys!
“You looked ready to cry,” Caleb explains.
“This is the guy that had you bawling, isn’t he?” Eli pipes in.
“I do not bawl!” I deny hotly. What had I said while I was out and delirious? “Do you want me to hit you again?”
“You hit him?” Dan takes a step closer. “He didn’t do anything to you, did he?”
“No.” I shove both boys out of the way and step in between them. “I woke up and it was dark. I didn’t know he was in the room and…why am I explaining this?”
Both boys shrug.
“What are you doing here, Dan?” I ask.
His face becomes the mask he wears when he’s on the job and all the anger I have flies out the window. Something is very, very wrong. Dan never gives me that look no matter how bratty I’m behaving. Is it my mom? Does he know something?
“Is it my mom?” I ask softly.
“God, I wish it was your mom,” he mutters. His eyes become haunted, turning nearly black.
“Dan, what’s wrong?” I break free from Caleb and wrap my arms around Dan. “What’s going on? Tell me.”
He takes a shaky breath. “The PI, he found out…”
“Spit it out,” Eli barks, his voice hard. I chance a look at him and he’s staring at the way Dan’s arms are locked around me like a life-line, his face lined in anger.
“Later, Mattie, I’ll tell you later.” Dan hugs me tighter before digging into his pocket and pulling out a bracelet of some kind. “Here’s your gris-gris. Looks like you need it.”
I eyeball the thing with disgust. Don’t you have to believe in those things for them to work? I see an identical one on Dan’s arm and I look up questioningly. He has one? Dan has issues with ghosts, but he’ll wear a gris-gris?
“I saw that thing, Mattie. If this keeps it away, I’ll wear it,” he tells me, understanding my question without my having to ask it. “Arm out, Squirt.”
Like an obedient puppy, I hold out my arm and he ties it around my wrist. The oddest sensation creeps over me and I shudder, wanting it off. I almost tear it off when Eli puts his hand over my arm. “Don’t,” he says. “It works. I know it feels creepy, but you’ll get used to it.” He holds his own arm up and I see a gris-gris on his arm and Caleb sports one, too.
“You don’t have to believe in them for them to work.” Eli smiles. “That’s the great thing about Voodoo, it works whether you want it to or not.”
Good God, the boy has dimples! His aqua eyes aren’t staring at me with malice, but humor, and my insides clench and those odd feelings flood my stomach again. What is wrong with me?
“Didn’t you kill it?” I ask, ignoring the slight hesitation in my voice. At least I didn’t stutter. How embarrassing would that be?
Eli shakes his head. “No, we just chased it off. Is it the same one you saw before?”
I nod. “Yeah, only this time it seemed faster.”
“It would,” Mr. Malone says from the doorway. “It’s the house. Demons feed off the evil in the house and become stronger, faster.”
“Dan?” The doc finally makes an appearance. About time. “I didn’t expect you until tomorrow.”
“You voodoo lady got these done early,” Dan explains. “You said it was vital she gets it ASAP so I drove straight here from Bourbon Street.” He looks down at me. “Why haven’t you answered any of my emails, texts, or voicemails? Do you have any idea how crazy I’ve been?”
I frown. “What are you talking about?”
“Mattie, I know you’re pissed six ways to Sunday with me, but you promised you’d never do that to me again. Not after what happened.”
“Dan, I don’t have a phone, remember?”
“Uh, no, Mattie, you do. I overnighted it to Doctor Olivet. He was supposed to give you the phone and your new laptop.”
“You see, Dan, about that…” Doc looks anywhere but at Dan. “Mattie wasn’t in any condition to answer the phone.”
It’s Dan’s turn to frown. “What happened?”
“Mattie has been unconscious for the last three days,” h
e admits.
“SHE WHAT?” Dan bellows, making me wince.
“It was the ghosts,” Caleb tells him. “They were too many and it overwhelmed her. It caused her to pass out into a kind of coma.”
“And you didn’t think to take her to the hospital?” Dan shouts.
“Chill, man, we fixed her up,” Eli says. “Besides, she’s fine. Woke up swinging and everything.”
Dan eyes the busted lip and bloody nose Eli is sporting and gives him the best cop look he has. That look has made me squirm on occasion, but it doesn’t faze Eli. He just stares back, a challenge in his eyes.
“Before this comes to blows, let’s go inside,” Mr. Malone interrupts before either Dan or Eli can say anything else. “I’d like to ask a couple questions about that demon since it seems to be following you, Mattie. We need to figure out how you picked it up.”
“What do you mean picked it up?” I ask, startled. Did it like latch onto me the same way ghosts do?
“There are lots of ways people can find a demon that decides they are a good meal to snack on or even a host to hitch a ride with. We figure out how it found you, we might be able to get rid of it easier.”
Eli groans. “Man, this was supposed to be a bag and tag, not a demon hunt.”
“Bag and tag?” I ask.
“Find the vengeance ghost, which means bag it and then kill it, or tag it,” Caleb explains while giving his brother the stink eye. Caleb was the older of the two, in his early to mid-twenties whereas Eli was about my age give or take a year or so.
“Come on, Angel Boy,” I say to Officer Dan. “You might learn something.”
Leaving the boys behind to glare at each other, I follow Mr. Malone inside, hoping that at least I might get some answers.
Chapter Thirteen
We go back into the dining room and I flop down in the first chair I come to. Eli and Caleb flank me on either side before Dan even has a chance to slide in next to me. These boys are serious, I realize. What in the world did I say while delirious? It must have been pretty bad if they’re refusing to let Dan near me. Not that I planned on sitting next to him, anyway. I’m still beyond furious with him.
