Ghost Hold

by Ripley Patton

  Hanging over me. Yes, the truth had been hanging over me all my life. But Alexander James didn’t know there was another copy of his precious painting. That my father and mother had changed their minds about letting my sister’s disappearance haunt us all; Kaylee, We will always love you.

  “It was a very difficult decision,” he went on. “That painting was all they had to remember her by. It was your father’s depiction of the girl he hoped she’d grow up to be.”

  “Wait,” I said, glaring at him with a hatred I didn’t even know I could feel. “You put a painting of my missing sister in your collection, and encouraged people to worship it as some mystical religious icon?” I stood up, shoving my chair back. “What kind of fucked up psycho are you?”

  “I have never misrepresented that painting,” he said, standing up too and towering over his desk, his voice low and dangerous. “People bring themselves to every piece of art and they see what they want in it, what they need from it. Kaylee Pas Nova is everything The Hold stands for, the very reason we exist: so a child born with PSS will never be erased again. Who do you think The Virgin Mary was? Just a poor girl who got pregnant before her wedding. And what about Buddha? A nobleman’s son who gave up his wealth to become a monk. I didn’t make your sister represent anything. She simply does. She is our Kaylee.”

  “This is crazy.” I backed away from him, stumbling against the chair behind me. “You’re lying to me. My father would never have kept this from me. He would have told me I had a sister.”

  “What purpose could I possibly have for telling you this if it weren’t true?” Alexander James asked, coming around his desk toward me.

  “I don’t know,” I said, glancing at the door, thinking of making a run for it.

  “You asked me for the truth, and I gave it to you,” he said, pausing in his advance. “And now it’s your turn. Am I going to have Passion’s mother on my doorstep tomorrow looking for her?”

  “No.” I shook my head. “Passion’s parents—they don’t care about her. They’re practically CAMFers.”

  “Good.” He nodded. “That makes things less complicated, since she seems to have a strong affinity for my daughter and The Hold already. And what about these boys you’re with? Are they going to give me trouble?”

  Shit. I’d exposed us all. I’d caused Alexander James’s discerning eye to turn toward Nose and Yale and Jason. And Marcus.

  “They’re just foster care runaways,” I said, trying to sound casual. “Passion and I weren’t very street smart, and they’ve been helping us out.”

  “Foster care runaways staying in a house in Hunterwood Estates?” Alexander James raised a skeptical eyebrow.

  “One of them is a hacker,” I said. “He broke into the rental home data base. It wasn’t that hard.”

  “I see.” His eyes appraised me. “Well, there’s no question that you are a very resourceful young lady. What about these tags? Samantha says they blocked her from hearing you. Let me see them,” he commanded, moving toward me.

  I reached inside my shirt and slipped the dog tags out. My hands were shaking.

  Alexander James stopped only inches from me and peered down at them.

  “Where did you get these?” He reached out, laying his fingertip lightly on the top one.

  “My father gave them to me right before he died.” I pulled the lie from thin air. “I don’t know where he got them, but he said they would protect me. That I should always wear them.”

  “And he put your fake name on them?” Alexander James asked, his eyes drilling into me.

  “No. I did that. In the garage at the Hunterwood house.”

  “Clever girl,” he said, like I was his new pet. Then he put his hand on my shoulder. “I am very sympathetic to your situation, Olivia. I know all about your mother’s issues with your hand, her inability to accept your PSS as the gift it is. And though I am sure she loves you, I doubt very much she will ever overcome those hang-ups, deep-seated as they are. She blames your sister’s loss on PSS. That can’t have been easy to deal with all your life. Frankly, I’m impressed you’re as well-adjusted as you are, given the circumstances. And that is why I’m going to leave the next step completely up to you.” He removed his hand from my shoulder, and I was glad. I didn’t want him to feel me shaking, to know my fear of him. “I can call your mother right now,” he said, “and she can come and get you. Or, I can advocate for you, try and convince her to put you under the legal guardianship of The Hold, which means you could stay here in Indy, under my roof, until you come of age. I would gladly do the same for Passion.”

  “And after I’m eighteen?” I asked cautiously.

  “The Hold has college funds for our wards. You could go to school wherever you wanted. Or not. Once you’re of age, you’re free to do whatever you choose.”

  “Even leave The Hold?”

  “You could leave Indy,” he said, smiling. “But you will always be a member of The Hold, remember?”

  How could I forget? I was marked. If Alexander James didn’t keep reminding me, my hand would. “Can I have some time to think about it?” I asked. “It’s a big decision, and with everything I just found out, I’m—I need some time.”

  “Of course,” he said, taking a step back and giving me room to breathe. “You’re overwhelmed. This must have been quite a shock. And Samantha said you weren’t feeling well. I can give you some time to recover and think. I will have a car take you back to the house in Hunterwood Estates. But you need to make your choice by Sunday evening. I’ll be meeting with your mother again on Monday, and it would be cruel to make her wait any longer than that.”

  “Thank you,” I said, nodding my numb head at him. He was going to let me go. I was going to get away. What an idiot. Did he really think I was going to stick around “thinking” about his proposal?

  “You’re welcome.” He put his hand gently on my shoulder again, the weight of it settling into my bones. “Just remember this, because it is very important.” His voice was deep and full of menace. “If you run, I will find you.”

  26

  DISSENSION IN THE RANKS

  “We need to leave. Now. Tonight,” Marcus said, pacing the spare upstairs bedroom like a caged big cat, stopping every two or three passes to peek out between the vertical blinds at the dark car parked across the street from the McMansion. Alexander James was now monitoring our every move, thanks to me.

  When I’d gotten back to the house, Marcus had been in the midst of gearing up to come after me. Apparently, Passion had sensed my distress through our connection with the tags, and she’d told him something was seriously wrong. And my explanation of what had happened hadn’t calmed him down any. In fact, it had done the exact opposite. But at least Passion was calm now, more than calm, she seemed almost serene. Obviously, she was feeling better physically too.

  “I’m not going anywhere,” she said firmly. “I’m not leaving Samantha or The Hold. He offered to pay for our college. I don’t get why you’re so freaked out. If he knew you had PSS, he’d offer you the same deal. All of you,” she said, looking around at Nose and Yale and Jason. “You’d be safe from the CAMFers. Isn’t that what you’ve wanted all along?”

  Marcus whirled around to face her. “You don’t even know this man or what he’s capable of. He’s a murderer.”

  “She doesn’t know because you haven’t told her,” I said, my head throbbing. “You can’t expect people to know things you’ve kept secret.” Like my sister. How had Marcus known about my sister? And why hadn’t he told me?

  “Okay, fine,” he said. “Passion, Alexander James chased my family down into an oncoming train and killed my parents. I was seven. And I was a member of The Hold. How’s that for taking care of family?”

  “I don’t believe you,” she said, staring at him.

  “What?” His fists were clenched. He looked like he might launch himself at her.

  “I’m not saying you’re lying,” she said. “I can see you think that’s what
happened. But I don’t believe Mr. James is an evil villain, or a murderer. And I’m sorry if your parents were killed in an accident. But maybe it was just an accident.”

  “You think I don’t know what happened to my own family?” he said, his face red, his eyes flaming with anger.

  “I think you’ve had a very hard life,” Passion said calmly, “and you see everyone and everything through a lens of mistrust.”

  Go Passion. I had no idea she had such insight into Marcus, let alone the balls to call him on it. If I hadn’t felt like a pile of crap, I might have stood up and given her a standing ovation.

  “Besides,” she went on. “You heard what Olivia said. If we run, he’ll come after us. If that car out there isn’t proof of that, I don’t know what is.”

  “You guys could probably run,” I pointed out, looking at Marcus. “He may have believed me about you. But he might not have. I don’t know.”

  “We’re not splitting up,” he said. “We’re not leaving you to The Hold.”

  “I could go back with my mom,” I said, shrugging.

  “And that’s what you want?” He sounded hurt, really hurt. And I couldn’t help feeling a little thrill because of it.

  “I don’t know,” I said. Because I didn’t. My brain was mush. I was still running a fever, and I could barely string two coherent thoughts together. All I’d wanted to do after my little talk with Alexander James was come back to the house and crawl into bed. Instead, I’d had to tell everyone that we’d been found out, and not only were we not going to extract Samantha from The Hold, Passion and I were very likely going to be absorbed by it.

  “What about this art gala thing on Friday?” Yale asked. “Didn’t Samantha say her dad uses most of his security for that? We could probably sneak away then.”

  “That’s the night of the Eidolon,” Passion said. “I’m not missing it. And I’m not running.”

  “So you actually want to join The Hold?” Marcus asked, incredulous.

  “Yes,” Passion said. “I’m taking Mr. James up on his offer. I’m going to tell Samantha on Friday.”

  “And the rest of you?” Marcus asked bitterly, looking first at Jason, then Nose, then Yale. “You want to go to college too? You want to join his cult and live in his mansion and have people worship you like a god?”

  “I don’t trust any of it,” Jason said. “What’s in it for him?”

  “If it sounds too good to be true,” Yale said, “it probably is.”

  “You know we’re with you,” Nose said to Marcus. “Just tell us what to do.”

  All his good army men in a row. Well, at least Marcus still had that.

  “We’ll come up with something,” Marcus said, looking back at Passion. “We always do.” But he wasn’t going to share it in front of her. His traitor. His Judas. Maybe he wouldn’t tell me either. Then again, what else was new?

  “Well, I’m going to bed,” I said, getting up and walking down the hall toward my room.

  I heard Marcus coming after me long before he called my name or grabbed my arm.

  “What?” I said, turning and looking up at him.

  “Listen—I—I’m sorry you found out that way,” he said, guilt in his eyes. “From him. About your sister.”

  “How did you know?” I asked, feeling numb, too tired to rage at him anymore.

  “I didn’t know for sure. At first. But my mom’s entire time in The Hold was dedicated to separating fact from fiction. When I went looking through some of her old notes and journals, the pieces were all there.”

  “When?” I asked. “When did you know?”

  “A week ago,” he said. “But how could I tell you? What if I was wrong? You’d think I’d lied to you again. Even if I was right, I knew how badly it would hurt you. I didn’t know what to do. And then when you saw the other painting, I knew you were close to figuring it out yourself. I wanted you to, and I was terrified you would blame me for not telling you when you did.”

  “So you broke up with me and let Alexander James do your dirty work? Yeah, that was ballsy of you,” I said, pulling my arm from his grasp and walking away from him.

  I went into my room and closed the door, and this time when my face hit the pillow I didn’t cry. Instead, I fell into a fevered sleep and dreamt of Alexander James, cradling my baby ghost sister in his arms, smiling down at her, and when I saw her face in the dream, it wasn’t a face at all; it was the round symbol of The Hold, two fists clenched in the middle of it, forever in conflict.

  * * *

  Passion was fine by the next morning, but she stayed home to take care of me, and to appease Marcus, who was adamant she not go alone after what had transpired between me and Alexander James.

  She did a good job of nursing me. She kept me hydrated, even though I wasn’t throwing up, and made sure I had saltines and 7-Up next to my bed. I had a feeling she was keeping Marcus at bay as well, because I’d woken up once to the murmur of voices and found her shutting the door firmly in his face and locking it. Of course, Marcus had a key if he really wanted to push things, but I doubted he would. If he was smart, he’d give me some time and space, especially while I was sick.

  At about three in the afternoon, my fever broke, and an hour later I started feeling good and hungry, so Passion went downstairs to make my favorite comfort food: macaroni and cheese.

  I was lying there, trying not to drift off, when my phone started buzzing like crazy on the nightstand. I picked it up and looked at the screen. It was Emma, but it wasn’t the time for our prescheduled call. I jabbed the answer button, put it to my cheek and said, “Hello?”

  “Hey Liv, can you talk?”

  “Yeah, sure. What’s going on?”

  “He woke up,” she said. “Dr. Fineman woke up from his coma.”

  “When?” I asked, a coldness traveling down my body.

  “I’m not totally sure. Last night or this morning, I guess. Anyway, he’s still in the hospital.”

  “Emma,” I said, “listen to me. When we get off the phone, I want you to go straight to your parents and tell them everything that happened. Tell them about my hand, and Passion, and the blades, and the PSS guys. Tell them about Mike Palmer and the CAMFers. Most importantly, make it very clear to them that you are in a lot of danger. If he’s awake, you all need to get out of Greenfield. Now.”

  “What? No, I can’t tell them all that. They’d never believe me.”

  “I don’t care if they don’t believe you. Make something up. Figure out a way to get them to leave.”

  “But what about your mom? If I tell them anything, it’s going to get back to her eventually.”

  “It doesn’t matter. She’s going to know where I am by Monday anyway.”

  “What? How?”

  “It’s a long story. And I don’t have time to explain. Emma, just get your parents to leave Greenfield. Think of a way. I know you can do it.”

  “Well, okay. They have been talking a lot about going to visit Grant in Indy, especially my mom. She really misses him.”

  “Good.” Emma should have no problem convincing her parents to visit her brother Grant, who was a freshman at Indianapolis University. And then all the Campbells would be in Indy. Along with my mom. And me. Why not make it my whole damn hometown while I was at it?

  Still, Indy was better than Greenfield with Dr. Fineman on the loose. “Push for this weekend,” I told Emma. “And get them to stay until Tuesday, if you can.” Hopefully, by then I could carve out a deal with Alexander James that would keep me and everyone I loved safe under the grand umbrella of The Hold. It was the only thing I could think of to do. Did I trust the benevolence of The Hold or Alexander James? No, I did not. But if I could use it to my advantage, I would. And I wasn’t sure I had any other choice at the moment.

  “I’ll try.” She still sounding unsure.

  “No, don’t try. Do it. They already want to go. Em, promise me you and your parents will be in Indy by tomorrow.”

  “My dad has a work
thing tomorrow. He can’t miss it.”

  “Then by Saturday. Please.”

  “Yeah, okay,” Emma said. “I’ll text you when we’re heading out of town.”

  “Thank you.” I exhaled a sigh of relief.

  “You’re scaring me, Liv. What’s going on? Are you okay?”

  “I have the flu,” I said, laughing weakly. “And I’m thinking of joining a cult.”

  “Come on, be serious,” Emma scolded.

  “I am being serious. But I’m going to let you go now so this call doesn’t get traced. Be safe, Emma. I love you.”

  “I love you too. Be safe yourself.”

  Five minutes later, Passion came in with a warm bowl of macaroni and cheese, and I scarfed it down. I had a feeling I was going to need all the strength I could muster very soon.

  “Do you think you’ll be up to school tomorrow?” Passion asked hopefully when I handed her the empty bowl. “And for the Eidolon?”

  “I think so,” I said, “but do you really think Marcus is going to let us go to that?”

  “Oh, he changed his mind,” she said, looking pleased with herself. “When I explained to him that Samantha really wanted him and the guys to come, he said they would.”

  “What?” I said, sitting up and throwing off my blankets. “What about their PSS? Samantha will hear them coming a mile away?”

  “Why would that matter?” Passion asked, sounding puzzled.

  “Does she already know? Did you tell her about them?”

  “No, I didn’t tell her,” Passion said defensively. “I thought it would be a really cool thing to surprise her with.”

  Yeah, Samantha was about to get a very big surprise.

  Marcus, Nose, Jason and Yale were going to crash the Eidolon.

  27

  BAD PLANS AND WILD THINGS

  I went downstairs to find Marcus. Alone. I told Passion we needed to talk about our relationship but what I really hoped to do was talk him out of his plan. His very bad plan. Because if he crashed the Eidolon it might mess up my very bad plan to cut a deal with Alexander James.