Island of the Forbidden (10 page)

Chapter Seventeen

The moment Eddie saw Jessica's pale face when she entered the breakfast room, he knew she hadn't slept much, if at all. She barely grunted a reply when he said good morning.

“The Harpers make it home yet?” she asked, grabbing a slice of buttered toast off his plate.

“Not as far as I know.” She was back to wearing black band T-shirts. He could tell there were other shirts underneath. This one had a drawing of a writhing snake with other crazy imagery that made his eyes hurt to look at. “Who are Motionless in White?”

“Metal band. Relatively new. I'm expanding my horizons.”

She also wore black jeans and sneakers. She looked like an anarchist cat burglar.

“Paul and the kids?” she asked.

“Keeping warm outside.” He noted the mist that billowed from his mouth when he spoke.

“Don't you think it's kind of strange that Tobe and Daphne took off the first night we're here?”

He swallowed his toast down with orange juice. Fresh squeezed too. “I find most things about the Harpers strange.”

“I listened to the recoding you asked me to make in the kitchen last night.”

“Catch anything?”

“Just the loudest silence I've ever heard,” she said. A bowl of granola bars had been left on the table. She ripped open a wrapper and devoured one in three bites. “But I did have an EB whisper in my ear to help them.”

Now he knew why he could sleep and she couldn't. For once, EBs had let him be, congregating around Jessica. While he slept like a baby, she was in direct communication with them.

“Did they say anything else?” he asked.

She shook her head. “That was it. One of the strongest disembodied voices I've ever heard, though. It sounded like a bunch of voices, all talking at the same time, in the same rhythm, you know?”

“Well, that's why we're here, to help them.”

“I thought we were here to help the Harpers,” she said with a crooked grin.

“The kids, yes, but we were always here to help the EBs. It's what the ones around me back in Connecticut have been urging me to do for weeks now. They knew something was up and were quick to pressure me to find you. It's not often spirits ask to help other spirits. Now that we're here, I can see why.”

Alice Harper came bounding in the back door. “Good morning Ms. Backman. Did you sleep tight?” She had on a teal sundress and her hair was already wild from running around outside.

“Kinda,” Jessica said, smoothing down the more errant strands of the girl's hair.

“I slept like a rock knowing you and Mr. Home were here,” Alice said. “So did Jason. The Last Kids didn't once try to wake us up.”

Because they were with Jessica all night,
Eddie thought. “Do they do that a lot?”

“Every night. They like to talk. It's like they're lonely, even though they're all with each other.”

Jessica offered the last bit of her granola bar and Alice happily accepted, stuffing it in her cheek like a hamster. She asked, “Alice, honey, what do they say when they talk to you?”

She was about to answer when Jason shouted from outside, “Mom and dad are home!”

Alice ran out the front door to join him.

“I guess I can always ask later,” Jessica said.

“We have all week.”

“I have a feeling it's going to be very important to know what they've been talking about.”

The front door swung open. Daphne and Tobe walked in, trailing Alice and Jason who had grabbed their hands.

Jessica looked at Eddie and mouthed, “Where's Paul?”

He shrugged his shoulders. He could sense Paul's presence, a living mind in a sea of dead, but he couldn't pinpoint his whereabouts. Another part of him that was temporarily out of service—please stand by.

Tobe dropped an overnight bag on the stairs. “Hello Jessica, hello Eddie. So sorry we weren't around last night. It got late and I'd had one drink too many. I'm not comfortable enough with the boat to take any chances.”

“Not a problem. You don't need to be accountable to us. We're the guests,” Jessica said.

Eddie shot her a look that screamed
bullshit!
She ignored him.

“We also stocked up on provisions,” Daphne said after laying untold kisses on the tops of her children's heads. “I'm still getting used to planning ahead when you live on an island.”

They both looked slightly worse for wear.
Hung over,
Eddie thought.

A collective scream from the EBs all across the island rang through Eddie's skull. It was the equivalent of sitting in a packed grammar school auditorium and asking all of the kids to shout at the top of their lungs. The force of it made him dizzy, almost knocking him off his chair. To counteract the incoming tsunami of sound, his mind reflexed outward. The front door suddenly slammed shut, startling everyone in the house.

“Was that a ghost?” Jason yelped, melting into his mother's side.

Jessica cast a quick glance at Eddie and moved in to settle things down. “Alice left the back door open. A cross breeze just blew it shut.”

“Are you sure?” Jason asked.

“Positive.”

Just like that, the screaming was gone. Eddie stayed in his chair, giving himself some time to recover.

What the hell made them do that?

The door opened again, and Paul came through lugging black leather bags and a hard plastic case.

Two others came in after him. Their arms were laden with all kinds of odd-shaped luggage.

Tobe stood between Jessica and the newcomers. “I almost forgot, we have two more guests for the week. Jessica, Eddie, I'd like you to meet Rusty and Mitch. They're old friends of Paul.”

Eddie eyed them with suspicion.

Despite the psychic blow Eddie had just received, he tried to cut through the white noise that had settled into his psychic sense and peer into the Harpers and Paul's friends. It was a pile up of thoughts and emotions, mixed in with what he was gathering from the deceased Ormsby children. Try as he might, he couldn't latch onto a solid thread.

But he didn't need psychic ability to sense something was up—something that Jessica wouldn't take kindly to.

Rusty was an animated wire with a full mustache, receding hairline and long ponytail that hung over his leather jacket. Mitch was clean-shaven and possessed a full head of wavy blonde hair, and although he seemed younger, Eddie could tell by the crinkling at the edges of his eyes that he was most likely the same age as Rusty. Mitch was barrel chested with a no-nonsense air that must have made him a tough man to negotiate with, whether in a boardroom or a bar.

“Nice to meet you both,” Jessica said. Eddie noted the reticence in her voice. “You must be staying a lot longer than us.” Her head flicked toward their bags.

“Maybe just a day or two to get some B roll,” Rusty said.

B roll?

Mitch saw the confusion on Eddie's face. “That means extra shots around the island and house. We can insert them throughout the editing process to give a better sense of the place.”

Jessica turned to Tobe. “What does he mean by
shots of the place
?”

Tobe's skin flushed paler under her critical gaze. Any thoughts of her being a young pushover were put to bed at that moment. “Well, they're, ah, filmmakers. Paul went to film school with them. They're here to shoot the documentary.”

Eddie felt the tension building within Jessica. He saw her shoulders square as her hands balled into fists.

“I'm sorry, what documentary?” she said.

“Children, why don't you go outside for a moment? Mommy will be right with you. Here, Daddy and I brought this back for you.” Daphne handed Alice a blue plastic bag full of toys. Her little eyes lit up like Fourth of July sparklers. Both kids jogged through the house to the backyard.

“We intend to document the strange goings-on in the house and island,” Daphne said. “If you wish to be in the documentary, I'm sure Paul could get a release form for you to sign. If not, I still need you to do what we initially asked of you. We'll simply film around you.”

Eddie was about to jump into the fray, hoping to quell the stream of curses that he knew were building up inside Jessica, when another visitor entered the house. She had long, amber hair and wore a black veil over her head. Her flowing skirt and layers of black lace reminded Eddie of a young Stevie Nicks.

The woman caught their gaze, brushed the veil back and smiled. “Finally, I get to meet the great Eddie Home and Jessica Backman. I'm the one that located you for the Harpers.” She extended a lace-gloved hand to Eddie. “I'm Nina D'arcangela. I look forward to learning more about you.”

“My God, your mind is a thing to behold.”

The voice came unbidden into his head, clear as a bell. Nina winked at him and walked into the great room without a care in the world.

Jessica's ensuing tirade was lost in the fog of his mind as he tried to figure out what the hell had just happened.

Chapter Eighteen

“We're leaving,” Jessica said, shooting daggers at Daphne and Tobe. She was so incensed, the sharp pain in the back of her skull concerned her. It felt like she was seconds away from popping a major blood vessel for real this time, and not just a figure of speech.

“Please, Jessica, give us a moment to explain,” Tobe Harper said. The man looked crestfallen, standing there with a hand over where his heart should have been.

Jessica jabbed a finger in his direction. “You brought us here under false pretenses. If I knew you were going to have a camera crew, I would have never agreed to come. This isn't a game. You want to play around out here? I can't stop you. It's your house, your damn island. You don't know what you're fucking with.”

She looked at Eddie, motioning with a flick of her head for him to follow her upstairs. He looked pretty upset, too, in no need of any convincing. It would take under a minute to pack her bags and Paul better have that boat running by the time she hit the dock.

What a clusterfuck! She should have stayed in Wisconsin. Just finish the job and move on to the next city. The paranormal field was filling with opportunists and assholes faster than a tin bucket in a downpour. She should have known better.

They were at the top of the stairs when the ridiculous gypsy called out, “Actually, we know exactly what we're fucking with. That's why I told the Harpers they had to find a way to get you here.”

“Bite me,” Jessica barked, storming down the hall to her room with Eddie in tow.

“Jess, if I had any inkling, I would have told you,” Eddie said.

She stopped and turned, her nose almost touching his chin. “I counted on you to keep me out of a circus like this.”

Anger may have ruled the moment, but deep inside, she knew he wasn't to blame. He wasn't the same man with the same bull's-eye abilities that she'd met three years ago. Back then, he'd sought
her
out, hoping to help. Now, he brought her here to help those two kids playing in the yard, unaware of what was really going on.

Taking a long, deep breath, she nudged his chest with her head. “I'm sorry. Let's just get the hell out of here and forget we ever came.”

Surprisingly, he smiled. “You sure you don't want to be in movies?”

“Funny. Pack.”

She stormed around the Blue Room, throwing her things into her bags. She saw Eddie doing the same, though he did take time to fold his clothes as neatly and quickly as possible.

They met in the hall and he followed her back downstairs. The Harpers and Paul's friends were huddled in a quiet conference.

“Paul, take us back to Charleston,” Jessica said. She didn't give a frog's fat ass what they were talking about. She just wanted to get out of there before the amateur hour began in earnest. That Nina chick was a crystal ball away from joining a carny.

Paul's eyes were wide. He moved his mouth, but no sound came out. He looked to Tobe, then Daphne. Neither came to his rescue. He reached into his shorts pockets, pulling out the keys to the boat.

But he didn't move.

“Now, Paul!” Jessica shouted.

He shuffled out the door. She walked past the Harpers and Rusty and Mitch, saying nothing. She was afraid that once she started, there would be no stopping until she'd laid verbal waste to everyone in the room.

Instead, Eddie said to Tobe, “That was a real shit move.”

Daphne puffed up, ready to pounce but Jessica narrowed her eyes, daring the woman to speak.

Mitch and Rusty each took a step away from Daphne. Nina leaned against the wall, watching them with detached amusement.

“Good luck with Madame Blavatsky over there,” Jessica said, letting fly with her parting shot at the smug fortune teller.

At least they all had the good sense not to stop them. Stepping outside, she clomped down the stairs and paused.

It felt even colder outside than inside. In fact, she could see her breath. Impossible. How could EBs, even a large collective like Eddie said were present here, hold such power over the outside environment?

Fuck it. That was their problem now.

“You want me to take that bag?” Eddie asked, motioning to the duffel slipping off her shoulder.

“Yes, please.” She handed it over to him and turned to face the darkened path to the dock and freedom from this madness. “I hope you're in the mood to get drunk because we're going to tear Charleston a new one tonight. I'm actually looking forward to breaking a sweat.”

Something crunched through the leaves behind them.

“Are you leaving Ms. Backman?”

It was Alice.

Jessica counted to ten.
Don't take it out on her. She had nothing to do with this.

She got down on a knee so she could be level with the small girl.
She's going to be a heartbreaker.

“I'm sorry we didn't stop to say goodbye. Mr. Home and I have to leave. You're such a good, brave girl and I'm so glad we got to meet you.” She fished a gum wrapper and pen from her bag and wrote down her number. “I'd like to stay friends with you and Jason. That's my cell number. You can call me any time you want, except at two-thirty-six in the morning.”

Alice cocked her head. “How come I can't call you at two-thirty-six?”

“I need that minute to sleep,” Jessica said, smiling. She ran her hands through Alice's soft, delicate hair.

“Is it because of the Last Kids?” Alice said. Her eyes shimmered with a coat of fresh tears.

Jessica pulled her into a hug. “No, honey. It's not that at all.”

Alice buried her head into her neck, sniffling. “Because they don't want you to go, either.”

She looked at Eddie. He stared down the path, his concentration so fixed, he probably didn't even notice Alice.

Paul emerged from the darkness shaking his head with exasperation.

“She won't start,” he said.

“What do you mean?” Jessica asked, still holding on to Alice.

“The engine won't turn over. She has gas. Everything looks okay. But I can't get the engine started.”

Alice backed away, wiping tears with her sleeve. “I told you.”

“She's right,” Eddie said. “They're all down at the dock. I don't think they're going to let us leave.”

Eddie had never seen or felt anything like it. The EBs of generations of Ormsby children swarmed the dock and the boat like a thick fog. It was difficult to see the little speedboat through their diaphanous forms. He'd left Jessica with Alice and Paul back at the mouth of the path.

He wanted a moment alone with the EBs.

The spirits that had harried him back home, urging him to come here when the time came, were nothing compared to the masses collected here. One group urged him on to Ormsby Island, and the other wouldn't let him leave. There had to be a reason why the dead were working in tandem with one another. It would have been nice to call his father, despite their tenuous relationship, and see if he had ever encountered anything like it before his own lauded abilities burned out of him like a spent battery.

“You made your point, we're not leaving,” he said to the undulating fog of spirit children. “If we're going to stay, you need to talk to me in a way I can understand if you want our help.”

In quick response, a hundred voices spoke at once, coalescing into a roar not unlike a passing subway train. Eddie shook his head violently, clasping his hands over his ears, even though the voices were directed at the center of his skull.

“Stop! Stop! I can't…I can't hear you when you do that!”

The voices stopped as suddenly as flowing water from a tap turned shut.

They're getting stronger. What little I heard yesterday was weak, distant. They're feeding off Jessica. Now I just need to find a way to single one of them out.

“I'm going back to the house. All I ask is one thing. Leave Alice and Jason alone. You come to me or Jessica. Okay? We can help you.”

Should I tell them to steer clear of Paul and his friends, too? If their intent was to document a haunting, what dumb things would they do to get the attention of the restless spirits here?

The more vindictive side of Eddie felt the little film crew was fair game. Let the EBs scare the life out of them. It would be a well-deserved consequence to their deception.

Their vaporous bodies began to part like pulled strands of cotton candy, leaving the dock, coiling past the roots and trunks of the trees, back to the house. Eddie jogged down the dock and jumped onto the boat. He laid his hand atop the massive outboard motor.

It was ice cold. So cold, in fact, that the flesh of Eddie's hand stuck to the frigid metal. He pulled and was met with pained resistance.

“Dammit,” he hissed.

Looking over his shoulder, he spied the cooler Paul kept on board. He flipped the top open with his foot and gave a celebratory jab in the air with his free hand when he saw the cans of warm beer, the ice long melted. Carefully squatting and reaching as far as he could, he tipped the cooler over. A can rolled out and into his waiting hand. He popped the top, pouring some of the warm beer onto his fastened hand.

Eddie pulled it free from the motor, but not without losing a layer of skin. Shaking his hand to flick the raw pain away, he jogged back up to Jessica. Paul was gone, but Jason had taken his place.

“They completely froze the motor,” he said.

Jessica had a hand around each child's shoulders. “Are you kidding me?”

“I wish I was.” He shivered. Jesus, it was like standing in a meat locker.

“Well, I tried my cell phone but there's no service.”

Eddie grabbed his own, saw there were no bars. “Mine has been reduced to a camera and alarm clock.”

“Hey kids, why don't you go back to the yard and Mr. Home and I will be with you in a bit?” Jessica said.

“You're going to stay?” they asked at the same time.

“Looks like it,” Jessica said with a fake but convincing smile.

Jason and Alice broke into cheek-bunching grins and sprinted back to the house.

Jessica said, “Before, when you were down at the dock, it felt like an invisible iceberg went right through me. Shit, my liver feels like it's been freeze dried.” Her teeth started chattering. “I've been holding back the entire time. I didn't want to freak the kids out.”

“I tried talking to the EBs, but it was just too much. Then they left, heading back toward the house. I'm sure they couldn't resist coming around you. Their strength is building.”

She hugged her arms across her chest. “I know I was a bitch about it before, but you have to teach me how to turn my internal EB generator off. We're stuck in the middle of a friggin' harbor with no way to communicate to the mainland. The last thing I want is an island full of pissed off EBs on steroids, especially with Alice and Jason around.”

Eddie looked at the old colonial house. He couldn't see a single EB outside.
They must all be in there, wondering what the Harpers and their friends are up to.

“If it makes you feel any better, I think for once, you're not the one the EBs will be pissed off with.”

Jessica followed his gaze. He took off his light jacket and draped it over her shoulders, rubbing her upper arms to break the chill that had seized her. Three years ago, he was sure if he tried a move like that, she would have kicked him in the ribs.

She leaned into him, the cold of her cheek bleeding through his shirt to the flesh of his bicep.

“Fuck it,” she said. “We came here to keep those kids safe. That's just what we're going to do. Paul and his film school buddies better play it smart and keep out of my way.”

Now that's the Jessica I know,
Eddie thought. They were going to need her strength if they expected to get off the island with their sanity intact.