by R. L. Wilson
Gasping, I take a seat on the grass up against the tree trunk. I need a break both mentally and physically. I’m nearly defeated, and ready to throw in the towel. But I can’t stop now; it’s life or death. Why is all this collapsing on me?
Shit, I should be at home chilling drinking an alcoholic beverage and watching trashy reality TV. The weight of New Orleans is heavy. Life’s a real witch.
I’m confused, and all cried out.
My magical aura wraps around me, comforting me. I find the strength buried deep inside. I know to make the right decision. I’m confident in what to do. I spring to my feet and slip the map out of Derrick’s furry hands.
“I’ve been assessing this map for two days, and there seems to be a pattern.” Pointing at the map, I confidently continue. “In these three locations.” Swinging my hair back, my eyes bore into Kato’s. “Can you confirm these are the cursed lands?”
He’s hesitant, but I’ve made my mind up that with or without his help, I’m going to these lands. Without help, it will take more time. But it’s not impossible.
He glances at the map and the back at me. “Maybe.”
I roll my eyes. “Come on, stop being a fucking pain in the ass. Spill the beans already.”
“Yes, Harmony, those are the lands, but it’s no place for a young witch.”
I ignore him and turn my gaze to Derrick. I’m grown and he can’t tell me where I can go.
“There’s a stronghold of the curse caster and I will find it.”
Graham has shifted into a wolf with the T-shirt nearly choking him. I thought it would be much too hot to have fur all over your body, but Derrick told me that the fur blocks the sun, keeping them protected from the heat.
“I’ll go on my own, but I would love the help of all of you.”
Chapter Five
“What do you plan to find?” Kato asks sternly.
“I don’t know what I’ll find.”
My mind is racing a million miles an hour. Maybe I’ll free some unfortunate supernaturals. And that’s perfectly fine. Dad always said when you issue good energy out, it comes back. That’s karma, and I need all the good energy I can get.
“Do you think you will find Prentiss? Because I can guarantee you he’s not there.”
Frankly, I have no idea what I’m going to find. Healing the lands could be bad. But a big secret’s in the middle. Maybe this is all tied together and can lead me to Momma.
“No, I’m not looking for Prentiss there.”
We start back on the dirt path of these woods. Kato’s not speaking now and Derrick seems pleased that I’m going to the lands.
“Hey whose house is this in the middle of these woods?” I ask. They’ll put a house anywhere in the South. Who the hell wants to live in the woods like an animal?
Derrick snaps his head in the house’s direction. It sits off the road, deep in the woods. “I have no idea; I’ve walked this road a thousand times and have never seen this house before.” He walks toward the tree, ducking under a branch. He’s enough over six feet tall that the branches were hitting the top of his head.
Graham shifts back into human form. He views his arm, running his left hand against his bare right arm. “I can’t shift back to the wolf,” Graham barks.
I scan the scenery and I can’t view fire anywhere. I try shooting magic from my hands. I get smoke, but no fire. Not that I’m an expert at fire. But I have been training. Somehow the house is making my magic weak. We get closer and the house appears to be falling apart at the seams. There’s a busted window and old, rusted steps. This house is abandoned, but far enough off the road that you could miss it.
“We’re here, so let’s just peek inside,” Kato suggests.
I dart my gaze to observe what Graham and Derrick think. Graham is already walking up the squeaky stairs. The house could be haunted. I’m very cautious. I’ve been in haunted houses before. And the ghosts will scare the pants off you.
The sun has eaten all the paint off the house. Paint chips are scattered about on the porch. Tall weeds cover the side of the house; there is no upkeep. At least five years have passed since anyone cut the grass or even entered this home.
Graham touches the knob and then glances back at the rest of us before twisting and pushing the door open. My hands tremble as beads of sweat form underneath my arms. I’m preparing for a spirit to jump out. But nothing but a cool breeze escapes. I move quickly toward the door. I need some air. I’m surprised this old-ass house has any air conditioning.
I creep in behind Graham, Kato, and Derrick. We step into the house and amazingly it’s preserved well. They just forgot about the exterior. There is brown furniture and pictures on the wall. Someone must live here.
“Hello, anyone home?” Derrick questions.
Juvenile laughter rings out, followed by racing footsteps from the back of the house. I’m not going back there. I will stay here and enjoy this central air.
Derrick walks around me. “Let’s go in the back.”
“Y’all go ahead. I’ll stay here and make sure no one comes.” I’m not a fool, those kids won’t jump out and attack me. Besides, my magic isn’t working, and it’s like standing in front of a crowd naked.
“We don’t need a lookout,” Graham says while snickering.
“Sorry, the one thing I don’t do is talk with ghosts.” I pivot toward the window and glare at the overgrown weeds.
“Ghosts aren’t real, and this house isn’t possessed by spirits. Someone lives here. Don’t you hear the kids?” Derrick says.
I turn toward Derrick, noticing the sincerity in his low, suave voice. I try forcing the thought of ghosts away. But I can’t; I sense they are here.
“Look around there’s furniture and pictures.” Graham explains, pointing at all the furniture.
“Ghosts are indeed real, but they require a lot of power,” Kato says while viewing the furniture and then he runs his finger across the coffee table. “They need to dust this furniture.”
“It’s unlikely that a ghost would be here, since it’s lacking power. It’s at least banishing all of my magical powers,” Derrick complains.“Yeah, me too,” I reply. Just before a loud bang followed by giggling wafts through the house.
I jump back, holding my chest. Those kids need to have a seat. They are scaring the hell out of me. Where are their parents?
Graham walks toward the back and the rest of us follow along. I don’t want to stand at the door by myself either. I’m walking so close to Kato’s back I’m tripping over his heels. We get to the kitchen and notice a large pot lying on the floor. That was the loud bang. But where are the kids?
“Shhh,” Derrick says. Whispers seep through the wooden door. My eyes widen as I stare at Kato.
“Breathe, Harmony, it’s ok,” he whispers.
My chest is getting tight like I’m having an asthma attack. I’ve sucked up enough cool air, so now I’m ready to get the hell out of here. Nope, nosy-ass Derrick has his paw on the door.
I close my eyes, terrified of what’s behind this door. These assholes don’t get it. Something’s going to jump out and bite our asses. I feel vulnerable because my magic is not working except for a little smoke, and that can’t protect me.
Derrick and Graham should be cautious too, since neither of them can shift and protect themselves.
I hear the creak of the door and catch the overwhelming scent of chocolate. I snap my eyes open and view small twin girls with brown hair jumping on the squeaky bed and giggling.
We continue farther into the room. A man missing an arm rocks in a chair. Is he their dad? He’s much too old to be their dad. At least he appears older. His beard is white, his skin pale and wrinkled.
A thunderous clap engulfs the room. Leaving me in a state of panic. Derrick pushes the door further open to see Prentiss sitting in a chair clapping.
“Congratulations, you found me.” He rests his bloodthirsty gaze on my face.
He sits there with a sneer. He’s so fucking cocky I want to
rip him to shreds. But then how would I find Momma? He has a crazed robotic expression, almost. The grin and the dazzled stare never leave his face.
A woman stands alongside Prentiss with her head cocked to the side. Even though her neck appears broken, she doesn’t seem to be in pain. Her eyes are emerald green. She stands at Prentiss’s side, staring in adoration.
“What the hell is going on here?” I pause and roll my eyes. I really don’t give a fuck. I just want my mother back. “Where is my mother?”
“That’s for you to find out, now isn’t it?” Prentiss says.
He must know that my magic isn’t working. Otherwise I would have thrown some fire at his ass by now.
“Where is my mother, Prentiss?” I ask again, now stalking toward him, my hands balling into fists.
“You are coming with me.” He says it so calmly it’s clear he knows he has the upper hand in this situation.
“No, I’m not coming with you.”
“If you want to see your mother again, you are.”
Chapter Six
The nerve of this asshole. I get closer to his face. I’m done being nice. Kato stops me. “Maybe we need to leave.”
“Not without Momma,” I argue.
The dude with the missing arm walks in my face. His eyes are dangerous, but I’m not scared. He grabs me by my arm. “You need to come with us,” he urges. His raspy voice sends sparks down my spine. He has a smoker’s voice.
Is he out of his damn mind? There’s pressure from his hand, but it’s not a grasp. I grab his arm and snatch my own away. No flesh, just squishy air. What the hell? I was trying to use my magic. It’s not working. Not that it would work on a ghost. I see him standing here, but he doesn’t have a solid form.
I realize he must be the ghost that Kato warned me about. He said they require energy, and I’m searching for any of my magic right now. My vision magic is all but dead. There is no buzz in my arm. I concentrate, trying to find my magic, but I come up with nothing.
I try pushing him out of my way, but he’s unfazed by the push. So, I use what I have and swing my fist. When I touch him a bright light appears, exposing his sheer essence of a shadow.
Kato grabs me. “Calm down, he can’t hurt you.”
“Let’s get out of here,” Kato says. The lady steps closer and lunges toward me, knocking me and Kato to the ground. They can’t hurt you, my ass. She drives her fist in my face. I kick the shit out of her. I don’t understand why she attacked me. But I’m not afraid of a ghost. Derrick and Graham are screaming from the kitchen, “Let’s go!”
The lady is still swinging. I’m not fighting her; it’s a dark force or energy. I hop to my feet, keeping my eye on her. She stands and rushes me again. Kato snatches me by the arm and yanks me out of the room as the door slams shut behind me.
I lean against the wall trying to catch my breath. “What the fuck was that?” I bend over and take deep slow breaths.
“Ha, there are no ghosts?” Kato mutters.
“I never saw one before,” Derrick says.
“I told you, listen more often,” Kato explains.
I raise my head. “I don’t understand why she attacked me.” I complain.
“You are the only girl here,” Graham says.
We could hear the girls giggling still. What the hell is funny? Do they ever shut their pie holes?
The rattle of the doorknob stops my heartbeat. A rapid flick of my gaze toward Kato tells me everything I need to know. His eyes are as wide as saucers. The door creaks open and I take off running toward the front door, following the trail of Derrick and Graham. Kato is so close on my heels, his breath brushes the nape of my neck.
The dining room turns into another room. The closer we get to the front the door, the farther away it becomes. What type of trick house is this? It’s a maze of rooms one after another. I’m too frightened to turn around. I don’t want to know how close behind us the ghost is.
Curiosity killed the cat. I glance back and see Kato running for his life. Right behind him is the creepy man with one arm and a brown shirt. Only now he has a butcher knife in his hand.
The door is within reach. We’re almost there. The pounding of our footsteps racing to the front door sounds like a stampede. If I don’t speed up, I will be run over. This man is out for blood.
I’m out of breath and energy. My feet can’t keep up. Kato steps on the back of my shoes, causing me to stumble and fall to the floor. Kato jumps over me as the body of the butcher comes flying toward me.
I’m working on no energy, but I have to get out of his way. I have to find the energy to roll out of his way or his knife will pierce my chest. The blade is long and slapped tight in his grasp. I close my eyes and push, shoveling myself across the floor as his torso crashes into the wooden floor. It never makes a sound, but the glow from his body and all around makes me close my eyes. I’m dazzled by the color. This must be in a lucid dream.
I open my eyes and the glow is still there, hues of purples around his body and spots of glowing green on the wall. It’s like a protection around him. The symbols on the wall are a shadowy glow. I have no idea what they mean, but I’m intrigued.
I look over at the mystery man chasing us, his shadow within feet of my toe. For sure he can’t be dead from a fall. Kato gets closer to the guy then bends to get a better view.
“He’s not breathing,” he says, looking at Derrick and Graham. Waving his hand in front of his nose, his face wrinkles. “He sure does stink.”
I rise to my feet. “What does he smell like?”
“A fire or something burning,” Kato explains, stepping away from the man.
Derrick walks closer. “Whew, he sure does.” He covers his nose with his hand.
“Let’s get the hell out of here,” Graham says.
“Haven’t you noticed we’ve been running through the same room over and over?” Kato barks.
“There has to be another way out,” I say as I inch closer to the symbols on the wall. They’re so pretty, just a faint shadow. I wonder if I could touch them.
The symbols change pink before I extend my hand. I touch the symbol anyway. It’s freezing.
“Look,” Graham screams.
I jerk back to him pointing toward the floor where the man lies. His body is dissolving into a cloud of smoke. These symbols must somehow make them disappear. They are ghosts, but this house is the creepiest of them all. As I hear bumping from the kitchen, I snap my neck in the opposite direction and view Prentiss, the twins, and the lady with the broken neck coming out of the bedroom.
Oh, shit, I’ve awakened the dead.
I take off, running behind Derrick, and observe another symbol dancing around the wall. I can’t resist touching it. The last symbol was cold, but it didn’t hurt. I look back at Prentiss and his crew, but he’s disappeared. That doesn’t stop the twins and the lady from charging toward us. I’m not scared of the girls; they can’t be over seven and they were only giggling and bouncing on the bed.
Kato, Derrick, and Graham continue running but are still in view. They’re going nowhere fast. Prentiss has us trapped in this haunted house.
I find more symbols and touch them one by one. Each of the ghosts disappears in a cloud of smoke.
“Hey, y’all can stop running now. We’ll find another way out,” I explain.
“What happened to the ghosts?” Derricks asks as he takes a seat on the floor. He’s breathing hard, like he’s run a marathon.
“Every time I touch one of these cold symbols, they disappear.”
“How do we get to the door?” Graham says.
“I don’t know.” We hear another knob turn.
There can’t be any more ghosts. I have no more energy to fight or run.
Chapter Seven
The door creaks open, sucking the life out of the room. Despair is obvious upon everyone’s face. We are all tired, and since we can’t use our magic, we’re doomed. I don’t see any more symbols. Nowhere else to run.
“Harmony,” a faint but distinct voice calls.
I let out a nervous shiver. The ghost can’t be calling my name.
Kato’s mouth drops. He inches closer to me. Whatever’s calling, we will fight it together.
“Harmony.” The voice penetrates my soul. It belongs to my mother.
I race to the hall where the voice is coming from. My jaw hurts. I’m biting so hard on my inner cheek. And then I see my mother standing there. I nearly piss my pants. It’s unbelievable. Wanting to touch her, I contemplate. Is she a ghost like the rest? But she’s not shadowy, it’s her in the flesh. Wait, I can’t be sure. I have to run my hand across her flesh to be sure. She staggers toward me, limping. Dragging her right leg as if she’s in pain.
Extending her hand, she touches my arm. I let out a sigh. The warmth of her flesh is earth-shattering. I hug her and smell her spirit. It’s Mom; she’s back. My heart feels as if it will shatter. Her thin frame is so fragile.
Kato, Derrick, and Graham stare, eyes popping in amazement that Momma’s here.
It’s unbelievable, I have so many questions. Her shirt hangs off her shoulder, her skin dingy and dark. I can only imagine the hell she must have gone through. But she did the most important thing: survived.
The next day we sit on the couch at Momma’s house. I have tried asking questions, but it’s hard to get a peep out of her. She talks a little, but not much. And now she is clear headed, not in her catatonic state.
“Do you want me to get you something to drink, Ms. Adams?” Morgan asks.
“No, I’m fine, just a little tired.” She leans back on the couch and curls her legs underneath her bottom.
She has the stench of Prentiss on her. I’m sure she wants to scrub it away. She flips her hair back and starts braiding.
Momentarily, I’m confused by her lack of emotion and conversation.
“Momma, my tattoo…it’s nearly gone,” I say as I pull my shirt down to expose the petite semi-angular engraving on my chest.
