The Spirits of Brady Hall

by M. L. Bullock

  Oh no! They figured it out. They figured out the trick. They saw the truth. They knew everything. They knew it all. Everyone knew!

  I thought I would cry or beg for mercy, but I did not. I laughed instead. I laughed like a madwoman, long and loud. I can't say why I laughed, but I tucked my right foot behind my left and elegantly lifted the hem of my skirts. Oh dear. That blood will ruin this gown. But the bloodstains didn't shock me for I felt nothing. Only laughter and ruin.

  Such a strange combination.

  And then her eyes met mine. Not Rebecca’s, but Lynette’s. Her eyes sparkled like a deer’s that had been transfixed by the light. I had seen that happen before when we lived on the farm. Rebecca and Benjamin and I. We had all been together.

  Lynette’s eyes sparkled just like that sweet-faced doe. Oh, but I had not taken her by surprise. There was no shock on her face at all. Nothing but pure satisfaction.

  As the theater turned to chaos, I laughed even harder as I witnessed my husband’s mistress fleeing Brady Hall. Oh, she’d been a clever girl. She had been far more clever than me but I had this moment. I had this moment in the spotlight.

  And that’s all I had left.

  Lynette had murdered my soul.

  Chapter Sixteen--Sierra

  “Bonita says the activity in the house has really kicked up. I’m glad we’re going back. I hope we can help her. I’d hate to think we made the situation worse,” I confessed as we pulled into the empty parking space.

  “What’s happening?” Cassidy asked as she unhooked her seatbelt. “What kind of activity?”

  I put my keys in my purse. “Footprints. Watery footprints all over the house. It’s so bad she called in a plumber to check it out but there’s no source. She says it looks just like somebody stepped out of the shower and took a walk through the house. It really scared her. No one is living in the house so no one is using the shower and there’s no swimming pool.”

  Cassidy shook her head in disbelief. "Wow. I guess you're right; it is a good thing we're here. The good news is I don’t think Elizabeth wants to be here. Lynette is the wild card, though. I’m not sure if they are even aware of each other at this point”

  “Yeah, they are and I think the hate between Elizabeth and Lynette continues. Do you really think Rebecca is...something else? God, I don’t want to believe that. I know it can happen, souls can fracture, can become all sorts of things, but I don’t know. The fact that it is a child, a little girl.”

  “I don’t know how to explain it all. Maybe I am wrong, Sierra. You are better at sorting this kind of stuff out. I could be completely wrong but I don’t think there’s anything left of Rebecca. At this point, she’s just a shadow, Sierra. That little girl is gone. It’s just a bit of her that’s left, but that bit is strong and so angry.” My heart broke to hear her words and I was quietly determined to help this child.

  Murdered and abandoned.

  Left fractured and lashing out.

  All words that should not be used to describe a child. It was disgusting.

  Bonita quickly left us after letting us in. I wasn't sure if she was coming back anytime soon, but I had a feeling that this was going to take a little while. Helping Elizabeth would be easy--Cassidy was right about that. Lynette would be a little tougher, but I was pretty sure that if Adeo were around he wouldn't put up much of a fight. There was no evidence to support the idea that he was still here, but the child was another story.

  Rebecca deserved to have her story told but if it was as Cassidy said, Rebecca didn't understand she was dead. If she didn't know what she was doing was wrong then it might be a struggle.

  Neither one of us spoke much as we walked inside the house. We stood before the mirror and stared at our reflections. Why was I so anxious? Cassidy shivered beside me and briefly squeezed my hand. Her skin was icy cold.

  “It's not just me? Thank goodness. Spirits definitely use this mirror. They come in and out of this thing, it’s like a full blown portal, but no one is in there right now.”

  I closed my eyes and focused on “feeling” the presence of Others. Nothing down here, nothing outside. Ah, that’s where they are hiding. “They're all in the attic. Only there's not much of an attic up there so I don’t know how we will navigate that. They're hiding from us and we need to confront them. All of them."

  Her eyes watched me in the mirror. "We best go up and get started then," Cassidy said dryly. I noticed she hadn’t carried her book bag or any of her investigative tools with her. No need for that. We knew there were ghosts here, what we didn't know was how to help them. Hopefully, we would find a way.

  "Let's do it.” We left the front parlor, traveled up the stairs to the attic and somehow managed to pull the ladder down. The ceilings were rather high, but Cassidy had strong arms and hoisted me up high enough to reach the pull-down chain. The ladder came down easily, but even as it slid down I could hear a shuffling noise; a kind of weird sort of footsteps.

  Nope. That wasn't quite right either. I wasn't sure what to call them. Not footsteps, more like the crinkling of fabric.

  As if one would hear in the theater when there was a show about to happen. It was a necessary part of the production to take the dresses out and allow them to breathe, to clean and fluff the material. Yes, that's the sound I was hearing, the rubbing of fabric. But there was simply nothing up here. If there had been a wardrobe storage area up here before, it was certainly not here now.

  The two of us sat on the first beam inside the attic. We set up no equipment, no laser grids or REM-pods. We had no audio recorders. We were going on intuition and our senses. We were two mediums, after all. If we couldn't hear the dead at this point something was wrong with us.

  Cassidy nodded at me and I took a deep breath remembering to remain calm. "My name is Sierra and this is my friend Cassidy. Cassidy has been drawing your pictures. You've been telling her your stories. All of you have been telling your stories to us both. Please, please listen to us. We're here to help you. We don't want to hurt you or harm you in any kind of way. We're only here to bring you peace.”

  Cassidy agreed with me. "She's telling the truth. We just want to help. Elizabeth? Can you hear me? We know what happened to you. We know what happened to Adeo. We know you didn't mean to kill him and we believe that you loved him. I don't know about everything else and I don't have to know, but I do know you cannot stay here any longer. I'm sorry that you are hurt but this place is for the living. This is not your place. This place belongs to living people and you are making them afraid. It is time to leave."

  In my mind, I heard her answer Cassidy’s command. It was a weak voice that I could barely discern above my one.

  This is my place. My place. All of this is mine. She can't have him.

  I touched Cassidy’s hand to let her know I needed to speak. “Elizabeth, listen to me. Adeo isn't here anymore; he's gone... he's gone through the door. He went to the light--he's not here. By refusing to leave all you are doing is preventing yourself from going to see him. I know you want to go. I know you want to see Adeo and that you want to see Rebecca so I want you to try really hard. I want you to focus on your love for Adeo. Nothing else. Not your guilt, not your regret. Just Adeo. He’s waiting for you, Elizabeth.”

  “Oh crap, there’s Lynette,” Cassidy said as she pointed at a shadow that appeared along the far wall. “Hurry up, Sierra.”

  I whined at the sight. “Elizabeth now is the time. She can’t stop you from seeing Adeo. She can’t stop you from going to him. I want you to look for the door; it's about to open. Just look for it."

  The sounds of a woman’s soft crying didn’t melt my heart. This woman, Elizabeth Monterro had murdered her daughter. She killed her in cold blood. Rebecca deserved her revenge, however that played out.

  Cassidy must have sensed my hesitation. She cleared her throat and picked up the dialogue. “Elizabeth, I can promise you that this is not a trick. We want you to be free. We need you to leave this place. I know you love your d
aughter. I know you loved her. Now prove that love--this is your one chance to prove that you did care about Rebecca.”

  I heard the ghost of Elizabeth Monterro make a sort of whiny sound which I interpreted hopefully; as if she was considering our offer.

  Tears filled my eyes. I had to do this for Rebecca. I had to do this for Bonita. I knew how stressful motherhood could be, but that was no excuse for what happened to Rebecca. Yet, it needed to end. The cycle had to be broken. Right here, right now.

  “Please, please Elizabeth it isn't right for you to be here, to be tormented like this. You may have done a lot of things in your life, things you would like to keep hidden but nobody deserves to be kept away from their loved ones forever. Go to the light. I'm opening the door for you.” And as I said it, I saw the door opening. “See the door? It’s full of light and love. Please, Elizabeth. Step towards it. You see it, don't you? Yes, you do. I see it too.” Tears streamed down my face. “It's warm and white and it envelopes you. It’s a safe place.” Suddenly Cassidy was clutching my hand, tears streaming down her face. These kinds of transitions were always emotional. And it wasn't lost on me how precious these moments were. How very precious indeed.

  And then she was gone. I knew Elizabeth had made her choice. She had slipped through to the other side. And without hesitation, we focused on the next spirit.

  This one wasn’t going to go without a fight. So be it.

  Chapter Seventeen--Sierra

  Cassidy touched my hand to let me know that she had this one. I was glad to hear that because I was exhausted. I hadn't realized until the other night how exhausted I truly was; how very empty. I was looking forward to going to Gulf Shores and reminded myself to thank Cassidy and Midas again for that surprise trip to the beach. The beach always refreshed me.

  I wish I was there right now.

  Instead, I was here in this hot attic with this evil, dead girl. But she was still a little girl. I wasn’t ready to give up on her. I had to stay focused. I had to stay present in this moment. I visualized a protective blue light around Cassidy. Yeah, I could at least do this much. I let it get cold and then warm, cold and then warm like it was pulsating.

  Wow. That grabbed the dead woman’s attention.

  Lynette revealed herself and it was an ugly manifestation of the woman she’d been. She stepped out of a shadowy corner, her Gibson girl bun was the only thing I recognized. Her face was a skeletal representation, presumably of herself.

  A flood of information came my way and I began sharing it. This was the only way we could strip her power away and see the truth of who she had been.

  "Cassidy, she didn't die here. She's back here because she likes seeing what she's done. She likes thinking that she won. She believes that she is the one responsible for Elizabeth's downfall. She was her mortal enemy--those are her words, not mine. She wants to know why we’re here.”

  “Lynette, you should have known you would not get away with this. It’s time to come clean,” Cassidy added. “This is Bonita’s place now and she wants you to leave Brady Hall.” Cassidy tilted her head and stared in the direction of the creeped out corner. I knew she couldn't see Lynette, not with her eyes, but she could feel her. And the feeling of her was dark and ominous and oppressive. But she was still human.

  "She captured the little girl. Oh, God!" I began to cry. “She’s bragging about it. She did it! Lynette captured Rebecca’s spirit. We thought it was the other way around but actually, she knew about the child and she captured her. She used her up and what’s left is this evil thing. Oh my God!” It felt like a kick in the gut. “She's been using her all these years. Lynette has used this child up--she’s the one! She took all of her humanity. She's taken all of her and used it against her mother. Oh God!" I couldn’t help but weep. Cassidy put her hand on my shoulder.

  "Lynette, you don't have any right to be here. Elizabeth is gone. You may have contributed to her death, but you have no power over her now. None at all! She is free and you're stuck here. You're stuck here and Adeo had gone on without you."

  And then with my ears, I could hear her screaming at us, “I want Adeo!”

  Cassidy kept going. "You blew it. You had your chance but you messed it up. You've lost him forever. He's not here and he won't come back, not for anyone. He’s at peace. He's where he should be and now you need to go." She didn't promise her anything. Cassidy didn't ascribe her to heaven or hell, that wasn’t in our authority. We couldn’t open any door for her either. Cassidy didn't promise her that her loved ones would meet her. She plain out wasn't giving her a choice.

  "You have to go, Lynette. You get out of this house and you let Rebecca go. You do not have any rights to her at all. You never did!”

  She growled at us and kicked up a low cloud of sawdust. I couldn't see her with my eyes now, but I knew she was creeping closer and I was concerned about being perched precariously on a ladder. She could easily, at any moment just shove us off. She hated all women! Yes, all women and we were no exception. Didn’t we understand that? Didn't we understand that she hated us?

  Adeo… Bring me Adeo.

  She warned us again and then the attic went silent. A sound at the bottom of the stairs caught my attention. How did she circle back around? I didn’t see her go past me.

  It wasn't like we could trap a ghost in the attic, but normally I sensed their movement, especially once they manifested.

  “Hurry and get down,” I warned Cassidy. But it wasn't Lynette that I saw. I saw the dingy edge of a child's nightgown and her feet as she glided past the ladder. Who could that be except Rebecca?

  Cassidy was the first to climb down. And I was right behind her.

  "It's her. It's the child. Lynette doesn't want to let her go. What do you feel, Cassidy? What do you see, Cassidy?”

  “Nothing, but my feelings are everywhere. I feel desperation. And fear. Deep and abiding fear.”

  Standing still I heard a familiar sound, one I’d grown accustomed to hearing at Brady Hall. The sound of a mirror crashing. The large mirror in the parlor. I always hurried to go see it, but there was nothing to see. The mirror was in its place; it was hanging perfectly evenly on the wall and there were no reflections except our own. We looked terrified and a bit worse for wear.

  I heard the child’s voice in my ear. I knew exactly what she was saying. What she’d been saying all this time. She’d been telling us how to set her free and oh, she wanted to leave so desperately. She didn’t want to be a creature. No!

  Break the mirror!

  "What is it?” Cassidy asked me. “What is she saying? I heard a voice, but I can’t make it out. It’s Rebecca, isn’t it? I've got goose pimples on top of my goose pimples. I know something is going on. What is it, Sierra?"

  Unblinking I answered her, “She says we have to break the mirror.” It did me no good to whisper for as soon as I got the words out of my mouth, there was a scream erupting from the staircase accompanied by the heaviest footsteps I've ever heard in my life. It sounded like an army was stomping down the steps but in unison and each of them took the same step. Oh man, the house was shaking. My heart was about to beat out of my chest and I knew who was coming for me.

  For us!

  Lynette was coming.

  She was coming to collect the child. She didn't want to let her go.

  “You can't have her!" Cassidy shouted. “She's not your daughter! She belongs to her mother. She belongs to Elizabeth!” Okay, so that probably was not the best thing to say but we were desperate. It was so terribly loud in here. It sounded like a freight train rushed towards us as she charged closer. Her angry, skeletal face appeared in the doorway, a mass of darkness, a swirling shadow. A stench accompanied her that made it hard to breathe. We huddled together as the floor rattled beneath us. I could hear the dishes clattering in the cabinets in the kitchen. Cassidy was clutching both of my hands and we were facing one another, praying together.

  Cassidy was mumbling something about a light and trying to get her to t
he door, but that wasn't going to happen. Lynette had no desire to cross over, but this poor child needed me to do what she asked.

  "Help me, Cassidy!" I dropped her hands and ran to the other side of the room. With all my might I begin tugging on the mirror. It was secured to the wall so there was no way to pull it down, so I did the next best thing. Cassidy must have been reading my mind because we both picked up knick-knacks from around the room and began smashing the mirror.

  We smashed the thing until there was no glass remaining. I cut myself more than once, but the job was done quickly.

  And with our destruction of the mirror, we defeated Lynette.

  We couldn’t force her to leave, but she would no longer hold power here. All she could do was watch the living. But I wasn’t even going to allow her to have that small victory. I stood up straight with a shard of glass in my hand and said, "You are banished, Lynette. You have no way to get back to where you were--the door is shut. You have to go. There is no place for you here--your hold is broken over Rebecca."

  Even as I said the words I saw wet footprints appearing on the floor. Rebecca was walking out of the room, into the kitchen and toward the back door. Before she disappeared I heard a little moan, but at least she was gone from Brady Hall. I prayed to God she found peace wherever she went. We waited, I waited because I didn’t believe that Lynette would be gone without more of a fight. Rebecca must have been the strong one. Without her to push around, to siphon energy from Lynette couldn’t manifest. She couldn’t hurt anyone anymore. Ever again.

  “It’s over, Sierra Kay. It’s all over.” Cassidy hugged me and together we cried with relief. I would have to pay for this mirror probably, but it was worth it. It was all worth it.

  “Cassidy, don’t call me that.”

  “What?” She stiffened in my arms. “Sorry, I just thought after all…”

  “You have to call me Little Sister.”

  Cassidy smiled hugely as she led me out of the pile of broken mirror. “For real?” Her smile was beautiful and genuine.