Shadow Keeper (29 page)

“Never mind,” they said at the same time.

“Monica, darling.” Oscar held the arm of a very elderly woman dressed as a medieval princess. “You remember Mama.”

“Mrs. Dubois.” Monica took both outstretched hands. “How nice to see you again.”

“Monica, dear.” Mama Dubois teetered precariously as she leaned forward and planted a kiss on Monica’s cheek. “My son told me you need a babysitter for your lovely little girl.”

I stood behind Lisa. When she let out a large huff, I put my hands on her shoulders and pressed my lips next to her ear. “I think you’ll be the one doing the babysitting.”

Lisa giggled, but her laughter was cut short when Monica grabbed her arm and pulled her to the kitchen table. “Sit here and don’t move until I come out of that room.”

Oscar slid out another chair. “Mama, you heard the orders. You stay right here with Lisa.”

I slipped off my jacket and stuck it on the back of the chair where Lisa sat. After leaning over to give her a kiss on the cheek, I followed Monica and Oscar into the dining room and pulled the French doors closed behind me.

“Mr. Alexander.” Charles stood by a long table that probably seated about twenty people. He didn’t attempt to approach me. “You have an enormous amount of raw psychic energy. If you could control it, channel it, you could become a very powerful medium.”

“Aw, shucks, I wanted to grow up to be a fireman.”

Oscar was the only one to snicker at my lame attempt to lighten the tenseness in the room. “What a dear boy.” He grabbed my arm and pulled me to the head of the table. “Have a seat.”

I pulled out a chair on my left and waited for Monica to sit before I did. Oscar and the vampire took chairs on the right.

Charles sat on the other side of Monica. “Mrs. Stratton told me you’ve had some sort of dreams concerning her husband. Have you ever experienced psychic visions prior to this?”

“No. My dreams started the first day I met Lisa.”

“Well, that explains it,” Oscar said. “A young, virile boy like you meets a sweet young girl and all sorts of hidden feelings surface.”

“Oscar, please.” Monica pressed her fingers to her forehead and rubbed in tiny circles. “This is my daughter you’re talking about.”

“Sorry, darling.”

Charles ignored the interruption. “In your vision, Mr. Stratton asked you to protect his family?”

“Yes, sir. Evidently, from a big, ugly rat of a man.”

“Hmm.” Charles drummed his fingers on the white tablecloth. “Is that all he asked of you?”

“That’s about it.” Kyle Stratton also asked me to kill him, but I wasn’t going to mention that bit of information.

“But he did ask you for something else. Something significant.” Charles was right on target, but that didn’t prove his ability.

Uncertain if he was a scam artist, I decided on a little test of my own. I might not learn anything, but I gave it a shot. “Do you sense any lost spirits wandering around in this house?”

All eyes went from me to Charles. “No, I’ve already performed a spiritual cleansing on this house.”

“Then why did I just have a vision of blood gushing from the kitchen floor where you dropped the wine glass?”

Oscar and the vampire gasped in unison, but Charles looked dumbfounded. I pressed further. “Did somebody bleed to death in the kitchen?”

“No one died.” Oscar had his fingers pressed against his mouth. “Someone was cut with a knife on that very spot. Stabbed, actually, by a jealous lover. He almost died before the paramedics got here.”

“How did you know that?” William the vampire asked.

“I saw the blood.”

“Impossible. Oscar had it cleaned.”

“Not dried blood. Fresh blood,” I clarified. “It squirted out of the tiles right where the wine had spilled.”

“You read about it.” William’s white makeup flaked off around his eyes when he glared at me. “You researched this house before you got here.”

“No,” Monica said. “He couldn’t have known. I never told him where we were going, and I never mentioned any names. He didn’t know anything about this house or what happened here.”

“If no one died,” Charles said, “that would explain why I didn’t sense a spiritual presence lingering in this house.”

Either Charles was good at covering all the bases, or his excuse was legitimate. I couldn’t tell. “Why don’t we just get on with the séance?” I suggested.

“We will.” Charles glanced at Monica. “But before we begin, I want to see if I can divine a reading on Mr. Stratton. Do you have the items I requested?”

Monica set her purse on her lap and fished out a plastic baggy. “You have no idea how difficult it was to get these. The lock of hair was easy enough, but I had to pay someone on the sly to draw a vial of Kyle’s blood.”

William slouched back in his chair. “I’m bored. Do I really have to be here?”

“Be nice.” Oscar battered at his arm. “This should be very titillating.”

“I find it tedious.” William put his hand to his mouth to cover a fake yawn. “Won’t my negative vibes hamper the spirits from revealing themselves?”

“Perhaps you could light the candelabra.” Charles had an agitated edge in his voice. “If you don’t find that too tedious.”

William rolled his eyes, but did as requested.

Charles pulled the rubber cap from the glass vial and held it up in front of him. He twirled a lock of blond hair between his finger and thumb before jamming it into the vial of blood. “We might be able to get a glimpse at whatever troubles Mr. Stratton, but it may only occur for a brief moment, so everyone watch carefully.

They all leaned closer over the table, including William.

Charles nodded to the switch next to the door. “Mr. Alexander, would you dim the lights, please?”

Experiencing a twinge of the same boredom, I trudged to the light switch. I flipped the dial that controlled the illumination of the large glass chandelier hanging over the table until it dimmed to what I figured was a ghostly glow.

On my way back to the table I watched Charles hold the tip of the blood soaked hair over the candle flame. A curl of black smoke rose up from the smoldering lock. A putrid smell drifted through the air. Two red sparks shot out of the center. A gushing noise, like wind blowing down a chimney echoed all around. Everyone gasped, and I knew I wasn’t the only one witnessing this eerie event.

Charles’ hand trembled as he pulled the hair from the flame. “Did anyone else see that?”

The pitch rose in Oscar’s voice. “I didn’t see anything, but I heard a weird noise.”

Monica glanced at Charles. “What did you see?”

He swiped at his face with a free hand. “Two blood red eyes staring at me.”

The stench hovered in the air. My stomach clenched. This was how the nightmares of the scabby creature always began—with the smell of rotting flesh. “Monica, don’t go any further with this. Let’s get out of here.” I held out my hand to her.

“What did you see?” Charles asked.

“Nothing, but I got a real bad feeling. We need to stop now.”

“Ooooh.” William wiggled his fingers in the air. “The little football player is scared.”

Monica patted at my outstretched hand. “I only saw red sparks and a little smoke. There’s nothing too scary about that, is there?”

I knew she was desperate to find a cure for her husband, but she didn’t have a clue as to the depth of the evil possessing him. “Okay. Go ahead if that’s what you feel you have to do, but be ready in case something weird happens.”

Her throat muscles ripped when she swallowed. “I’m ready.”

I sat down in the chair and nodded for Charles to continue.

He appeared about as reluctant as me, but he stuck the bloody ends of the hair back into the flame. A black puff of smoke popped out of the lock of hair. Charles flinched. The hair slipped from his fingers and landed on the flame. The entire lock of hair ignited.

The blood sizzled as a black spiral of smoke rose up. The putrid stench intensified. A gurgling, grunting noise bubbled from the candle wax. Red sparks shot through the air. A ball of fire about the size of a basketball burst from the burning hair. Thick black smoke bellowed upward and hovered over the candle. The smoke transformed into the terrifying creature of my nightmares.

Long, sharp claws slashed at those sitting at the table. Screams of terror filled the air. Chairs crashed over backwards onto the floor. The demon reared his ugly head and opened his mouth, showing filthy, green snaggled teeth. A bloodcurdling screech gushed from his throat. The thing lunged at any movement, but couldn’t move from the center of the table. The creature was held—tethered to the candle, or perhaps to the lock of hair trapped in the burning flame.

I hadn’t moved in my chair, but the filthy thing saw me—sensed me somehow. The ugly, ratty looking man lunged at me, gnashing his sharp teeth close to my face. The creature howled a deafening roar. Spit from his opened mouth slapped against my cheek. My stomach knotted from the disgusting smell.

Monica stood behind the chair. She attempted to escape, but the demon caught her movement and lunged at her. She stumbled backward. Her back smacked against the wall. She turned her head when the creature stuck his scabby face next to hers. I sprang from the chair and forced my body between them.

“Get away from her,” I shouted.

Needle sharp claws swiped at my chest, but I stood just beyond his reach. When he swiped again, I made my own lunge. I grabbed the tablecloth and yanked it. The candelabra tumbled over, the flame gutted out, and the creature vanished. A small plume of black smoke rose from the smoldering clump of burnt hair.

I took a deep breath to calm myself, but the smell of rotted flesh caught in my throat, and I gagged on the stench.

Monica made a whimpering noise. I turned and put my arm around her shoulders. “Let’s get out of here.”

Her body shook as we stumbled across the floor. As we neared the French doors, loud banging rapped on the glass panes. Lisa’s voice shouted from the other side. William crouched on the floor. His hand held the knob.

“Let go of the handle.”

William glanced up at me. The look of terror showed in his eyes. “It’s locked.”

I shoved his hand aside and opened the door.

“What happened?” Lisa stood in the doorway. Tears filled her eyes. “I heard screaming, but I couldn’t get the door open.”

I put my other arm around her and led them both to the kitchen table. Monica collapsed into the chair. I glanced at the half dozen people hovering around us. The screaming must have attracted their attention.

“Somebody get her a drink,” I demanded.

Several glasses containing various colored liquids scooted across the table toward her. She picked up the closest one and downed it in a single gulp. She propped her elbow on the table and held up two fingers. “I need a cigarette.”

Instantly, a long white cigarette was shoved between her clenched fingers.

“No, Mom.” Lisa took it from her. “You promised to quit.”

Monica swiped her hand over her face. “All right, just get me something to drink. Wine. Not the hard stuff.”

Zorro nudged me in the ribs with his elbow. “What happened in there?”

I glanced at Lisa. Her wide eyes stared at me as she waited for an explanation. I couldn’t lie to her face, so I looked at Zorro. “One of the candles tipped over and a little fire broke out.”

Chapter Thirty–Six

I glanced at the French doors. No one else had come out of the dining room, and none of the people in the kitchen seemed eager to venture in. I dreaded the chore, but I had to go back in and bring out the others. “Stay here,” I said to Lisa. “I’ll be right back.”

In the dining room, the ghostly glow persisted and I tripped over William the vampire’s legs on the way to the light switch. I spun the knob, turning the chandelier to its highest setting. Light flooded the room.

A stench lingered in the air, but the presence of evil had vanished. Thick black smoke hovered near the ceiling. The edge of the tablecloth spilled onto the floor and the candelabras at either end lay turned on their sides. In the center, water from the broken flower vase saturated the table top and dripped onto the floor.

Charles sat at the table, a blank expression on his face. Something kicked at the tablecloth on the other side. I walked further into the room. Oscar lay under the table, curled into a fetal position. I glanced over my shoulder at William crumpled on the floor. He blubbered like a little baby.

They were a pathetic looking bunch, but I had no sympathy for them. I’d warned them, told them not to continue, but they’d ignored me. Even ridiculed me with their haughty
I’m older and more experienced than you
crap.

These crybabies had to push aside their fear, gather their courage, and man up. That’s what the coach preached when our team faced a fierce advisory. Perhaps giving them a challenge would help them snap out of their stupor. I clapped my hands together to get their attention. “Okay, let’s get this séance started.”