Ghoul of My Dreams (Larue Donavan Series Book 4) (21 page)

“I’m okay. What about you?” His voice was strained.

I lied. “I’m fine.” The light grew brighter until it was hard to see anything else around us. I didn’t know if this was truly the way out.

Chapter 24

Even though I couldn’t see the other shadows any more, the dark one was behind me still. My sixth sense warned me of the approaching danger, but I felt helpless to stop it. I couldn’t go out if it was still following me. Yet, I didn’t know what to do to make the thing stop. This wasn’t working out like I had planned. Before I had time to think of what to do next, a blow to my back forced me forward. I stumbled as a groan escaped my lips. I’d been kicked in the back. A growl echoed around me. The shadow had attacked me from behind. Its icy presence was all around me. It was overtaking me, no doubt to take my soul. I swung my arms, only hitting the air. I was defenseless to stop it. All I could think about right now was my family and friends and particularly the way I’d left things with Callahan and Mindy.

Would I ever see them again?

Roger called out my name. I wasn’t even sure where he was now. The darkness surrounded me, blocking out the light. Roger called my name again. That was when I spotted pops of light breaking through the dark. Was he trying to help? I didn’t think there was anything he could do. The dark shadow was a lot more powerful than him. I shouldn’t have let Roger come in here with me. It was too late now, though. I wanted to tell Roger if he saw the way out to go for it. He didn’t want to get trapped in here forever with me.

The face of the dark shadow flashed before me. I recognized it as the one I’d seen at the bookstore. This was no man though. It was a demonic monster, trying to take the image of a human. It wouldn’t work though. Its eyes glowed green and its black lips curled back revealing fangs. Its hands were more like claws and the face was elongated, making it look as if this thing was melting. There was no way it could get rid of the darkness. Just looking at it make my skin crawl.

Things were getting fuzzier the longer this thing attacked me. It felt as if icy hands had gripped my arms. The growling continued and then it felt as if claws ran across my skin. Another hit struck me. This one was a blow to the stomach. It had knocked the wind out of me and rattled my whole body. It was hard to even think straight. Someone called out my name again. But, this time I didn’t think it was Roger. It was definitely male, but it was so far away I couldn’t tell who it was. Maybe it was the dark shadows calling out my name. I was on the ground of this portal wherever that was. It almost felt as if I was floating. I couldn’t let it end this way. I had to at least try to fight until the very end.

I moved my arms forward and pushed on the shadow, trying to break free. If I could get through, then maybe there was a chance to get away from this thing. I pushed with my feet and somehow managed to get up. I tried to move toward where I thought the exit was, but it was as if this thing was sucking me back. I was consumed by the dark shadow. Using all the strength that I could muster, I pushed forward, but stumbled and then the light appeared once again.

“Roger, are you there?” I called out.

“Larue, I thought you were gone for good. I’m right here,” he said.

Roger’s faint outline appeared to my right.

“We have to keep moving and get out of here,” I said.

The mission wasn’t working and I needed to get out of there before it was too late. I’d only gotten a short distance when the dark shadow surrounded me again. The chill of its presence slid over my body.

“No!” Roger yelled out.

I couldn’t believe this thing had gotten me again. I wasn’t sure why I hadn’t realized I was making it easier for the dark shadow to continue to attack me by showing my fear. I had to be tough again. It was time for me to show this thing what I was made of.

“Never underestimate me, demon,” I said.

I flooded my mind with positive thoughts and told myself there was nothing to be afraid of. This thing couldn’t control me and there was nothing it could do to me. I pushed forward again, but someone grabbed me from behind. This felt like a living person with a solid touch. I knew by the size this was a man, but I still couldn’t see. The bright light surrounded us again. Without saying a word, we rushed ahead. I only hoped this was the right direction. But what if this wasn’t a real person who had me. It had to be, right?

No spirit could do that. We moved into the light. The bright glow grew dimmer and smaller as we moved. It felt as if we were falling. This person had a tight hold on me. The touch felt familiar, but I couldn’t see. I was still groggy from the fight with the dark shadow. The wind whipped around us like a tornado and it felt as if we were falling even faster now. Where was Roger? Had he come too?

“Roger, where are you?” I tried to call out.

It was so loud that I knew he wouldn’t hear me.

The light grew dim until it was totally gone now. The space was closing in on us. The noise was deafening and suddenly, I hit something hard. I groaned and opened my eyes. I was on the floor again looking up at the ceiling.

Bonnie and Bethany raced over to me. “Larue, are you okay?”

Actually, I didn’t know if I was or not. As long as I was out of the portal, then I was better than I had been. Who had helped me out of there though? I remained on my back on the floor.

“I’m fine.” I sat up and looked to my right.

Callahan saw me and pushed to his feet.

“What are you doing here?” I asked.

“I came to get you out.” He rushed over and hugged me. “Are you okay?”

Tears formed in the corners of my eyes. Now was not the time to cry. “I’m fine,” I mumbled into his chest as he held me tight. I leaned back and peered up at him. “I can’t believe you went in there.”

“Stone didn’t want me to. He was going in after you, but I told him he had to be there to close the portal.”

“You know about the portal?” I asked.  

Callahan nodded.

“He wasn’t supposed to do that,” I said. “How did you know where we were?”

“Mindy and I followed you,” Callahan said.

“That was you in the black car? Whose car was that?”

“I borrowed my employee’s car,” he said. “I didn’t want you all to know it was me behind you.”

“Where is Mindy?” I asked in a panic. “She didn’t go in there, did she?”

He pushed the hair away from my face. “Don’t worry, she’s with Stone.”

“That reminds me, I have to close the portal. Where is Roger?” I looked to my left.

Roger waved as he stood there smiling. “I’m right here.”

“Thank goodness you’re okay,” I said.

As I got to my feet, I was never happier to see a ghost.

“Bethany, do you want to help me do the spell to close the portal?” I asked.

“I’m not sure I know what to do. I’m new to all of this… remember?” she asked.

“Don’t worry, I’ll tell you everything we have to do.”

She stared at me for a moment, her eyes wide, and then she finally said, “Yes, I’ll do it. Just give me instructions.”

“You need to stand with me under the portal. We have to hold hands. Callahan can help, too.” I motioned for them to come close.

“You will have to instruct me,” Callahan said.

We joined hands underneath the portal so we could cast the spell that would hopefully close off this exit for good.

“Doing the spell won’t be easy. You have to concentrate on the words I’m saying.”

I hoped this was correct and the spell Melanie had given me would work. Usually, the spells in the past had required candles and herbs. This one was just with words and our energy. The most important thing was for me to remain in control. I couldn’t show fear.

“Close the entry into this world, never to be opened again. Spirits go away, this entry is sealed forever.” I repeated this several times with Callahan and Bethany saying the words with me.

As the incantation left my lips, the energy zoomed through the air. It had to be working. The power felt so strong I thought I might fall to the floor. Just as I thought I couldn’t stand it any longer, the feeling started to fade. Soon, it had evaporated and the air returned to normal. At least the heaviness I’d felt before had dissipated. That had to mean something, right?

“Do you think it worked?” Bethany whispered.

“I don’t think we will know for some time.” I stared at the spot where the portal had been.

The energy subsided once we stopped the spell and the feeling I had gotten about the portal wasn’t there any longer. I took that as a good sign.

“Fingers crossed that we’re safe now,” I said softly. “We’ll just have to wait to see what happens and keep on alert to see if the dark shadow comes back.”

Callahan kissed my cheek. “You did a great job, Larue.”

“I need to see what’s happening on the other side because if they don’t get that closed, then this could cause a big problem. They’ll all come out on the other side. I would hate to do that to Elisa.”

Callahan handed me his cell phone. “Here, give him a call.”

I smiled. “Thank you.”

He winked. “Anything for you.”

I dialed Stone’s number. I couldn’t believe I actually remembered it. Unfortunately, Stone didn’t answer the call.

“I left a message,” I said as I handed the phone back to Callahan.

“What do we do now?” Bonnie asked.

“We have to drive over there and see what’s happening. But, I don’t have a car. Callahan doesn’t have his either.”

“I’ll drive you,” Bonnie said. “Come on, let’s go.”

“Thank you for everything, Bonnie,” I said as we got into her car.

She started the engine. “I should thank you.”

Callahan’s strong presence beside me in the back seat was comforting. We made the short drive over to the other house. Stone’s car was still in the driveway. We got out and walked to the door. I knocked, but I was really impatient to see what was going on in there. It was kind of strangely quiet. My anxiety was at an all-time high. No one answered the door and that had me terrified. Where was Stone? Where was Mindy? Where were the other ghosts for that matter? When no one responded, I twisted the knob. Surprisingly, it was unlocked, so I turned and pushed the door open.

We stepped into the house and immediately I peered down the hallway, but didn’t see anyone.

“They were here when you left, right, Callahan?” I asked.

He headed toward the end of the hallway. “Yes, we were down there at the entrance to the portal.”

I rushed over to the spot. It felt different than it had when we were first here; as if it was no longer a portal. Stone must have completed it and closed the portal, but where is everyone? Even Elisa wasn’t around.

“You check out the house on that side and I’ll go over here.” Callahan gestured.

Bethany and Bonnie walked toward the upstairs.

“We’ll check up there,” Bonnie said.

I wasn’t sure if separating was such a great idea, but it was the only way. After searching around the inside the house, I couldn’t find anyone, not even Marilyn or James. That had me really concerned. I met Callahan at the front of the house again. Bonnie and Bethany came down the stairs.

“Where do we look now?” I asked.

Since I couldn’t sense the portal, I didn’t know what exactly had happened. What if they’d gotten close to it or if something had happened when I closed the other side.

“We should go outside and look for them,” Callahan said.

I didn’t have any other ideas as to what to do, so I would have to give that a try. I had no clue why they would’ve gone outside. We filed out the door and then went around the house. Unfortunately, we didn’t see any sign of them. Even more puzzling was Stone’s car was still in the driveway.

We came back around to the front.

“What do we do now?” Bonnie asked.

I released a deep breath and then said, “I don’t know. I have to figure out where they went.”

“Callahan, can I use your phone again? I want to dial Mindy’s number and see if I can reach her.”

Callahan handed me the phone and I immediately dialed Mindy’s number. Mindy didn’t answer the phone either, and now I really was panicking.

“Just stay calm,” Callahan said.

I would try, but that was easier said than done.

Chapter 25

“Did you hear that?” I asked.

Bethany and Bonnie shook their heads.

Callahan asked, “What did it sound like?”

“I thought I heard someone call my name.”

We moved around to the side of the house again. I spotted Marilyn and James standing in the middle of the back yard. They didn’t notice we were watching them. I ran over to them. When Marilyn spotted me a huge smile spread across her face, but worry filled her eyes.

“We thought we had lost you forever,” she said when I reached her.

“It’s okay, I’m here now. I wouldn’t leave you all for good,” I said.

“Thank goodness you came back,” Marilyn said.

“Where is Stone and Mindy?” I asked.

James shrugged. “We don’t know. We haven’t seen them. I don’t think it’s very nice of them to leave us here.”

They could’ve gone with Stone. I wasn’t sure why James was so upset.

“Do you know which direction they went?” I asked.

Marilyn waved her hand. “They got in the car and took off.”

Yeah, that still didn’t tell me much of where they went to. “But whose car did they take?”

“They left in the Elisa’s car.”

“Was there something wrong with Stone that he couldn’t drive?” I asked.

“I guess he was too groggy and dazed from whatever he was trying to do.”

Apparently I wasn’t going to get much more information out of them. I didn’t know if he actually closed up the portal or what.

“I still can’t believe they left us here,” James said, obviously still upset.

“What’s important is I’m here now and we’re together again.”

I couldn’t believe I’d just said that. Glad I was with ghosts? What was I thinking?

I wondered what was wrong that made Stone, Mindy, and Elisa take off like that. Had they been so scared that they wanted to get out of the house immediately?

“Can you tell me what happened?” I asked Marilyn. “Did the dark shadows come out of the portal?”

“I don’t think so,” she said. “How would I know?”

“I’m pretty sure you would have seen them,” I said.

“Don’t worry, Larue, I’m sure they’re okay,” Callahan reassured me. 

“Yes, try not to think the worst,” Bonnie said.

I always thought the worst. It was my natural instinct to do that. I hoped it wasn’t anything bad, but I was almost afraid to find out what had transpired to make them leave. Standing here wasn’t going to help, so I needed to find out where they went. I had to go after them and see if they needed my help. Did Stone just get sick of all of this and take off? Why would Mindy and Elisa go with him?

“Are you sure they didn’t say where they were going? Any hint of where they may have taken off to?” I asked.

“No, we went to the front room because I couldn’t stand watching everything. It was too stressful, so when we went back into the hallway we saw they had gone. We came outside to look for them, but they were long gone.”

“What should we do now?” Bonnie asked.

“We have to go find them.” I turned around and headed toward the front of the house, motioning for everyone to follow me. “Come on, let’s go. Bonnie, do you mind driving back to your house? Maybe they went there.”

I was sure Bonnie would be more than happy to get home and probably away from me.

“Sure, we can go wherever you need to go to, Larue.”

Callahan and I got into the back seat, while Bonnie and Bethany were in the front. Roger was sitting between Callahan and me. James and Marilyn were standing on the sidewalk with scowls on their faces.

“What about us?” James asked. “We always get left behind.”

Marilyn placed her hands on her hips. “Yeah, what about us? We are coming with you. You said you weren’t going to leave us here.”

This thing with the cars with making it very inconvenient.

“There’s not room enough,” I said.

Their unwillingness to use any of their supernatural powers was astonishing to me. I knew they weren’t going to stay behind though, so I knew I had better figure out something quickly. Then, the roar of an engine pulling up caught my attention. I looked over my shoulder and said, “Thank goodness.”

“You’re not going to be able to leave us behind now,” James said.

I jumped out of the car along with everyone else. Stone and Mindy raced out of the car toward us.

Mindy reached out and hugged me tightly. “Larue, I am so glad to see you. I thought you were gone for good in there.”

“I’m fine. I made it out. Callahan saved me.”

She moved over and hugged him, too. “I’m so glad to see both of you.”

I met Stone’s gaze. “Did you get a chance to close the portal?”

I held my breath waiting for him to speak, praying he had the right answer. I couldn’t tell by the expression on his face.

He ran his hand through his hair. “Yes, I think I closed it. What happened on your side?”

I nodded. “Callahan got us out of there. If it hadn’t been for him I don’t know what would have happened. He said you wanted to come in after me? Thank you.”

“I was just doing what needed to be done.” A small grin twisted the corner of his mouth.

“Just the same, thanks for helping me with this. I couldn’t have done anything without you. Do you think we stopped them?”

“As long as they didn’t get out when you did, then I think we did. I was worried about closing my side without knowing what was going on with your end,” he said.

I saw the strain of stress on his face. Now all we could do was wait to see if the demons ever returned.