Haunted (54 page)

"Me either," Melanie added.

"I guess I shouldn't have, but what the heck, they both signed liability waivers." He chuckled sickly. "I wanted Theo out of my sight and giving permission seemed like the quickest short-term answer."

"What are we going to do if they don't come out?" his daughter asked as the three walked over to the couch and sat down.

"You've got me, kiddo." Since the moment they'd left the room he'd regretted his decision to let them go, and now her question doubled his misgivings.

Vaguely, he heard the thrum of an engine, then headlights flashed through the window.

Amber hopped up and peeked out, then turned back to David and Melanie. "They're hee-erre," she sang as she went to open the door.

"Who's here?" Melanie asked.

"The cavalry, I assume." Despite all of the goings-on tonight, David hadn't been able to take his mind off Melanie's heart-shaped face, off her green eyes, off the laughter that lived in her voice. He wanted to take her hand, but still unsure, he refrained. "Craig and Eric Swenson were going to come by to watch the fun, but Craig had some things to do first. I didn't think he was going to make it. Fortunately," he added as he heard the men's voices, "I was wrong."

"Craig Swenson's the police chief, right?"

"Right."

"He seemed like a good guy," Melanie added as they rose to greet the newcomers.

"Chief, Eric, you remember Melanie Lord?" David asked as they joined them in the parlor.

"Of course." Swenson looked from Melanie to the portrait of Lizzie and gave a low whistle. "Sure she's not your grandmother?" he asked.

"It's the clothes," Melanie said, shaking his hand, then Eric's.

Everyone sat down. "So, we missed the show," Swenson stated. "Was it a bust?"

"Only Pelinore was a bust," Amber said dryly.

David didn't even try to hide his amusement. "It was quite a performance," he said, but before he could begin to tell them about the séance, Eric interrupted.

"Where's Miss Pelinore? She's still here, isn't she?"

Melanie was staring at him in amazement and Amber said, matter-of-factly, "Eric's a real psychic, not like that witch Pelinore."

"Yes, she's still here. So's Romero," David said. "They're looking for the dungeon."

"You're letting them wander around--" Swenson began.

"They bulldozed him," Melanie explained.

"Nothing's likely to happen tonight," David went on, feeling horribly sheepish, "and Romero wanted to see what he was in for."

"That's right..." Craig said slowly. "You found the secret passage..."

"Thanks to Patton's letters, I know where it's supposed to be. I have a schematic of the latch. But, frankly, I haven't had any desire to check it out."

"Did you give the schematic to Romero?" Swenson asked.

"No." David paused. "Theo says I showed her, that night that she was possessed by Christabel."

Craig cracked his knuckles. "Yeah, I think you said you don't remember much about it?"

"No, I don't." And he'd revealed even less of it to Swenson, primarily because it was just too embarrassing to retell. "All things considered, I guess it's likely that I told her. Christabel was trying to get us into that dormer room..." His stomach did a slow, nauseating flip as he realized that he'd seen the dark misty form the specter favored enter Theo tonight--but that he hadn't seen it come out again. It was dark, he told himself. And just because a ghost usually takes a particular form, that doesn't mean it has to. It might be invisible, or it might look like something else.

"David," Eric said.

He looked up, saw the young man's pale face, saw the terror in his eyes. "What's wrong, Eric?"

"We have to get them out of there."

"We've never had more than one incident occur at a time, Eric," he said gently. "We had major phenomena here tonight. If I didn't think Christabel's going to have to rest up before performing again, I'd never have let them go down." He looked at the others. "Maybe this séance was a good thing, after all. It should still be safe around here tomorrow."

"She wants you to think that," Eric said bluntly.

"Theo?" Melanie asked.

Eric shook his head. "No. The other."

"Christabel," David said. He ignored Eric's warning look, but his stomach was growing sicker and sicker. The boy’s right, his guts insisted. He’s right. Telling his misgivings to shut up, he said, "Let's give them a little while. I'm sure they'll be back soon. The locking mechanism probably doesn't even work."

Melanie and Amber had been speaking quietly to each other, and now they stood up. "Dad, we're going up to my room for a minute. I want to show Mel Lizzie's doll."

"I'm not so sure you two ought to go wandering off by yourselves," David said.

"We'll be right back, Daddy. You said yourself nothing's going to happen."

That was true. "Okay, but hurry back down and don't go anywhere else."

Amber rolled her eyes. "We won't." She turned to Melanie. "Come on, Mel."

As they walked away, he heard Amber tell Melanie that her dad was a worrywart. Melanie's gentle laughter trailed down the stairs.

"So, tell us about the séance," Craig said. "And Theo's big bust," he added, his face deadpan.

Body House: 1:25 A.M.

"I can't wait to see the whole place," Melanie told Amber as they approached her room. "This house is like a museum."

Amber laughed. "It's weird, anyway. Here's my room," she added, her hand on the knob.

They entered the room, and Melanie was surprised by the strong scent of lavender which permeated it. Amber glanced at her, then said calmly, "That's just Lizzie. I guess she wants us to know she's here." She opened a beautiful oak wardrobe, then knelt in front of it, her hands inside, fiddling with something Melanie couldn't see.

"This is Lizzie," Amber said, rising to show Melanie the doll she held carefully in her hands.

"She's beautiful," Melanie said.

Suddenly, the air turned chill and Lizzie's lavender fragrance was overwhelmed by the sickly sweet odor of jasmine and decay.

"God!" Amber cried, pulling the doll protectively against her. "No! Get away!"

It looked as though Amber was fighting with herself, as if her hands and arms wanted to throw the doll, while the rest of her wanted to keep it safe.

She looked at Melanie with wide eyes. "Help me!"

Before Melanie could respond, the maniacal sound of Christabel's laughter filled the room and the doll flew from Amber's arms. The girl screamed as it crashed against the wall with a sound like breaking dishes.

"No!" Amber cried again. "No!"

Melanie grabbed her. "Come on!" she ordered over the sound of Christabel's laughter. "We've got to get out of here!" The putrid odor of decay was so strong now that Melanie had to fight down the urge to retch. "Come on!"

A dark cloud swirled into existence in front of the open door, blocking it. As Melanie watched, it took shape, forming quickly into the image of a young, dark-haired woman. "Christabel," Melanie said softly.

Abruptly, Amber was yanked from Melanie's grasp. She landed at the feet of the spirit's now faded, flickering image.

"Amber!"

The girl moaned.

The ghost laughed, the sound echoing in Melanie's head. Then it spoke and, though its mouth didn't move, she heard every insane word. You can’t hide from me now, Mama. I broke your little house. Your little doll house. Again, the terrible laughter rang out.

"Lizzie," Amber whispered. "Lizzie, where are you?"

Melanie barely detected the lavender scent beneath Christabel's overwhelming stench. "She's here."

It doesn't matter if she’s here--she can’t help you anymore. Christabel laughed. maniacally. You can 't hide from me, Mama. Get out of this house, or I'll destroy you!

The lavender, like a cool breeze, descended upon Melanie, and faintly, she heard Lizzie's desperate voice in her head. She’ll kill her, she'll kill Amber! Stop her!

Stunned, Melanie thought one word: How.

Her body lies in the dungeon, Lizzie explained. Destroy it. Cut it up, or burn it. Melanie could feel Lizzie's agony as if it were her own. She cannot reenter her own body until the Erzuli doll is broken. She will try to do this herself while possessing the body of another. Once it is broken, she will immediately move into her body and then she will be too strong for anyone to fight and all those imprisoned in the dolls will be her slaves for eternity.

You must not let her break the doll. You must do it--you must take control, because you must destroy her body and her soul. It's the only way to free the others and make this place safe. ·           You interfering bitch! another voice screamed in Melanie's head. When will you learn you can't stop me, Mama?

Christabel's laughter rang in Melanie's ears and she looked up to see that the spirit's image, though still soft and translucent, had lost its flicker. It was already regaining some of the energy it had used during its attack.

I must go now. I will try to help you. Remember. Remember . . . Lizzie's words faded away.

Christabel, her expression so evil that Melanie could barely look at her, was nearly solid now. Slowly, she moved forward, her feet floating right through Amber. The girl, nearly unconscious, shivered and made a tiny mewling sound as the spirit moved through her, toward Melanie.

I hope you’re not foolish enough to listen to my mother.

You can't stop me. No one can. You re going to die, bitch, and I'll have your heart for my breakfast!

Suddenly, laughter filled the air and the spirit raced toward her so quickly that Melanie had no time to move. The last thing she felt was something that felt like a cold sheet of ice slamming her down to the floor.

Body House: 1:42 A.M.

She left the red-haired woman who was dressed like Mama on the floor and entered Amber's body. Though the girl gave little resistance, forcing her to rise and walk to the third floor was difficult because Christabel had expended so much energy already this evening.

There was no time now for recuperation, but what she had just accomplished had been well worth it. By planting the notion in Amber's head to show Mama's doll to the other woman, she had normally gained access to it, effectively destroying her mother's power to fight her. Mama knew it, too. That had been obvious by the way she'd fled after making her small, pitiful attempt to communicate. Later, if she continued to stay in the house, Christabel would seek her out and drain her down until she became nothing more than a cool breeze.

She had also decided to procure Amber now, since it was imperative that she have her for the sacrifice. As she reached the third floor and turned toward the dormer room, she felt relief. As soon as Christabel had her safely in the room, she would leave the girl there and have Theo carry her down and put her in bondage.

Soon, the others would follow, but by then she would be ready to trap them, and since Eric and his uncle had shown up, she would have enough bodies to completely finish the reanimation ritual tonight. There would be no more waiting!

She used Amber's hand to close the dormer room's door, then left the girl's body, laughing as she watched it fall to the floor. She looked forward to the not-too-distant moment when she would tear the girl's beating heart from her chest with her own reanimated hands, a process that would give her almost as much pleasure as slipping back into her own body again.

Body House: 1:59 A.M.

"We need to go upstairs," Eric said suddenly. "Something's happening."

"With Theo?" Swenson asked.

Eric shook his head. "It's Amber, I think."

David leapt to his feet and ran for the stairs, vaguely aware of Swenson and Eric behind him.

"Amber!" he shouted as he made the landing. "Melanie!"

Turning the corner, he saw that Amber's door was open and her light was on. "Amber!" It's okay, everything's okay--they’ve only been gone fifteen minutes! "Amber! Melanie!"

"David?" It was Melanie's voice, soft and uncertain.

He tore into the room and rushed to help her as she pushed herself up off the floor. "Melanie."

Dazed and disheveled, she looked at him with little comprehension as he helped her to Amber's desk chair.

"What happened?" asked Craig Swenson.

"Where's Amber?" David added.

She looked from man to man but didn't answer.

"Christabel's been here," Eric said from behind them.

"Yes," Melanie said, understanding coming back into her eyes. "Christabel. She hit me."

"Hit you?" Swenson repeated.