Unhappy Medium (11 page)

“No offense, Orin, but I don’t think I have much of a choice. I’m here, and so is the black cloud. And like you said, it has
me in its sights now. What if Madame Serena and I work together? Is there a way to get rid of an entity like this?”

Orin sighed.

“It’s possible. But I don’t want you to go looking for this thing.”

“Better me looking for it, than it looking for me. Just tell me what to do,” I said. “If it came back. You said it was possible
to get rid of something like this. How?”

“I can only tell you what worked for my friend in Connecticut,” Orin said anxiously. “Your mother is the expert. I’m just
guessing the entity in that hotel functions the same way as the one in the Connecticut house. I can only go from that.”

“It’s going to have to be good enough,” I said. “Please, Orin. Just tell me what you know.”

“Well, the key is light, Kat,” he said. “Light in every form is this thing’s enemy. When you read about the forces of dark
and light, whether it’s in a cultural myth or in
Star Wars
, the metaphor is quite literal. Light energy is the energy of love, of goodness, and of beneficence. Dark energy is the energy
of hatred and destruction.

“A person, no matter how weak, could protect themselves from being entered physically with a simple prayer or call to whatever
power they believe in, if only they knew to do it. But it’s coming at you psychically, and that’s much harder to block. You
need to hit it with every form of light you can — call on all the Beings of Light that the Universe can put at your disposal,
then bombard it with light energy, which you’ll have to visualize. Think of a star going super nova. And throw love at it.
Every caring, compassionate emotion you can muster.

“It feeds on fear. No matter how scared you feel, replace it with the image of something or someone that inspires pure love
in you. And not to be obvious, but keep every light in your room switched on.”

Now that was a problem at the moment. But there was no point in mentioning it — it would only make Orin more anxious.

“Okay,” I said. “And how will I know? If I’ve gotten rid of it, I mean?”

“I don’t know,” Orin said, sighing. “I can only guess that you
will
know. But Kat …”

“And if I don’t get rid of it, it will still be there, right, Orin? The next time someone checks into that room, or even visits
someone in that room, it will be there. Trying to get into them.”

“I … yes. It might.”

“Jac’s mom is staying in that room, Orin. And she already sensed something. She gets headaches, and she’s not herself.”

“Kat, listen to me. I’m going to drive over to your house to find your mom. I want you to talk to her directly.”

“I’m all for it,” I said. “I just need to make sure I can handle myself now. In case.”

“Be careful,” Orin said.

“I will. I promise.”

“You better,” he said. “Be well, Kat. Stay in the light.”

I said good-bye and hung up.

Orin had done as much to prepare me as possible. Now I was on my own.

I felt sick to my stomach.

I was also terrified to the bone.

I went back inside, uncertain what to do next. I wasn’t too keen on going back upstairs after what had just happened. The
best thing to do seemed to be to wait until my mother called me. I checked my phone, and groaned in dismay.

The low battery light was flashing. I probably had less than an hour left on it if I didn’t make any calls.

I decided to switch the phone off. If an emergency came up, I could try to make another call. If I left it on waiting for
my mom, it might run out of juice before she had a chance to reach me. And I couldn’t recharge it until the electricity came
back on.

I was back in the same situation as after lunch. It was raining, I had nothing to do, and Jac was in cello-land. I also realized
that I’d left my book somewhere — probably in my comfy seat in the reading room. I decided to go and get it and then look
for a Barbie and Colin–free zone to read until Jac’s symposium got out.

The book was exactly where I thought I’d left it, and the lovebirds were nowhere to be seen. I was heading through the main
lobby when I saw Jac’s mom at the front desk.

“Tylenol is fine,” she was saying, taking a little packet from the woman behind the lobby desk.

“Mrs. Gray,” I said, walking toward her.

She turned to face me. She had dark circles under her eyes. Her face was blank for a moment, like she didn’t know me. I found
it very unnerving.

“Jac’s at the strings and woodwind symposium,” I told her. I felt it was the one sentence in the universe that might cause
her to smile. But she just stared at me, like she thought I’d been a dream and now here I was in real life.

She fingered the Tylenol packet in her hand.

“So you still have a headache?” I asked.

“Obviously,” she barked, then pressed her hand to her forehead. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to be … rude. My head just throbs
and throbs — nothing helps. Except when I get up and walk around it feels better. But I’m so tired …”

“The water fountain’s down there,” I said, pointing down one of the halls. “For the Tylenol. I’ll show you.”

Mrs. Gray followed me.

“I’m so … I apologize, Katherine. You were invited here as Jackie’s friend and my guest, and I’m just not myself at all.
I know Jackie is still angry at me. I thought if you came along and we all had fun that she might … ,” her voice faltered
as she rubbed her temples. We had reached the water fountain but she was just standing there, as if she didn’t see it. Gently,
I took the Tylenol pack from her hand, ripped it open, and placed the two red and yellow pills in Mrs. Gray’s hand.

“Take them,” I said.

She did, leaning down and taking a long drink from the fountain. I watched her curiously. Jac had told me once that her mother
had been an excellent viola player, and that her dream was to play professionally. But her parents had not supported her ambition
and urged her to marry and settle down instead. Jac sometimes felt like giving up the viola had left a deep mark on her mother.

Mrs. Gray finished drinking and straightened.

“You never think … ,” Mrs. Gray’s voice trailed off for a moment. Then she looked at me. “I didn’t plan to be this way.”

“It’s not your fault — something is making your head ache,” I said.

She shook her head.

“No. I mean, I didn’t plan to be the way that I am. I know your mom isn’t like me, Katherine. Jackie talks about her.”

I didn’t know what to say. I couldn’t believe Jac had told her mother everything about my mom, that she was a medium and all
that. But Jac did love being at my house, and I guess her mom knew it.

“It’s only that I was like Jackie once. It’s probably impossible to believe, but I was.”

Truthfully, I could hardly believe this
was
Jac’s mother. The Mrs. Gray I had known was cool, perfectly put together, and never had much to say to me.

“It’s not impossible to believe at all,” I said, a little untruthfully. “I think everything is going to be okay, Mrs. Gray.
With Jac, with her music, and even with you. She just needs to be in charge sometimes.”

There was a silence, and I hoped I hadn’t said too much. After a while, Mrs. Gray looked at me. Her eyes seemed to focus on
me for the first time.

“I didn’t really approve, when you and Jackie became friends,” she said.

I gulped silently.

“I didn’t want anything or anyone distracting her from her music. But you’re a smart girl, Katherine. It’s not such a bad
thing for Jackie to have you around.”

It was kind of a mixed compliment. But it was far and away the nicest thing Jac’s mom had ever said to me, so I’d take what
I got.

“Thank you,” I said. “I’ll always look out for her.”

Mrs. Gray nodded.

“I’m so tired,” she said. “I hate to go back up to that room again, but I can hardly keep my eyes open. I just want to try
to sleep. But when I do sleep, I have these dreams.”

“Dreams?”

“People chasing me — some shadowy figure with a knife or something. It sounds silly, I know. But they interrupt my sleep.
I’ve missed every parent activity they’ve offered at this conference so far. I don’t want to miss the keynote speaker tonight.
Maybe I should go back upstairs and try to take a short nap.”

“Oh, don’t do that!” I exclaimed.

“Why?”

Good question. Mrs. Gray had only recently decided I wasn’t “bad” for Jac. This was not a great time to tell her I suspected
a demonic entity was occupying her room. But those dreams … a shadowy figure … a knife. It was obviously not a coincidence.
For whatever reason, Mrs. Gray was attuned to the black cloud. She had a level of psychic ability she wasn’t aware of. She
was also under a lot of stress. Mrs. Gray seemed to fit the bill of a vulnerable person. I could not let her go back to that
room. Not while the thing was still up there.

“My … aunt suffers from insomnia,” I lied quickly, “and her doctors … her sleep specialists always told her the
worst
thing she can do is nap in her bed during the day because her body should associate that bed only with nighttime sleeping.
So, if you nap there now, chances are you’ll have an even worse time sleeping tonight and the whole cycle will get worse.”

“Oh,” Mrs. Gray said. “Still, the keynote speaker tonight …”

“There’s this great reading room on the other side of the lobby, down the hallway with the blue wallpaper. It’s got these
big comfy chairs and a huge fireplace, and hardly anyone even goes in there. I had a nap there myself. It would probably be
very refreshing, just what you need — and you’d feel better for the thing you want to go to tonight. Why don’t you try it?”

I don’t think Jac’s mother really believed what I was saying, or was even listening to me all that closely. It seemed more
like she was just so deeply tired she’d do anything to be rid of me. She didn’t protest when I took her arm and gently escorted
her to the reading room door.

She said nothing, not as I took her to the big comfy chair, and not when I got her settled, waved, and started to walk away.

“Kat?” Mrs. Gray called.

I turned, surprised. Mrs. Gray never used nicknames.

“Thank you.”

She looked confused, like she wasn’t sure what she was thanking me for.

And it was definitely better that she
not
know.

I smiled at her.

“Any time, Mrs. Gray,” I said.

As soon as she settled back into the chair, she looked like she might nod off. I felt it would be safe for her to sleep there.
I headed for the stairs. No matter how I felt about the black cloud, I couldn’t put off dealing with it any longer. Because
it no longer posed a danger just to me — it was threatening Jac’s mom as well.

Whatever the black cloud did to me, it had to be overt and aggressive, because I knew where it was and what it was. But Jac’s
mom only had a vague, subconscious awareness of it. And it seemed from her behavior that the black cloud had already started
trying to get into her mind. Given enough time it would probably succeed, and maybe it would start controlling her, the way
it had controlled whoever had murdered the girl in 504.

My room was empty, but I was really jumpy when I went inside. The power was
still
off, and the clouds outside were so thick and black that there was barely any light in my room to see by. I turned all the
light switches to the on position, so if the power came back on I would know instantly.

“Madame Serena?” I called.

I sat down on the bed, where I’d been the first time the medium had appeared. But nothing happened.

I sent a short prayer to the Universe, asking it to send me help and protection from any spirit or entity that might wish
me harm. My mother had taught me how to do it, but I’d never really felt the need before. I’d been so naïve — assuming that
everything out there, in the spirit world or in other dimensions, was ultimately harmless. But the black cloud was anything
but harmless.

Worse than that was my realization that this wasn’t the only black cloud in the world. I knew for a fact that there was another
entity of the same kind, because I’d come face to … whatever with it back at school in the library. Presumably that one
would come after me again sooner or later, too, and it might even try any time I walked into the library.

I shook my head to clear it. This wasn’t the time to think about what was in the library. The mere thought that not one but
two demon entities had it in for me was so chilling it took my breath away. Was I so special? Was I such a threat to them?
Or did they consider me easy prey?

“Madame Serena,” I called. “Madame Serena!”

She didn’t come. My thoughts were too scattered, and I was too overtly anxious. I tried to quiet my mind, and broadcast my
silent call to her the way I’d done before.

Still nothing. I sat silently, trying to focus even harder. I gave it a good two or three minutes. Then a clap of thunder
broke my concentration.

“The thunder bounces off the cliffs. It sounds much louder than it is,” came a familiar voice.

She was right where she’d been last time, in full garb, including the turban.

“Madame Serena!” I said, relieved. “You’re here!”

“Well, of course I’m here, Simple Cat,” she said. “I’ve been waiting for you ever since we were interrupted by that …
thing. You have no idea how thrilled I am to be crossing over to the Summerland. You did say you could help me do that, didn’t
you?”

“Yes, I did say that, Madame Serena, and I can help you. But I need you to help me with something first.”

“But, Simple Cat, what could I possibly do for you?” Madame Serena asked, in her strong singsong voice. She sort of reminded
me of Glinda the good witch from the
Wizard of Oz
, but older. And taller. And wider.

“I need your help as a medium.”

She ducked her head, and squeezed her hands together in her lap.

“I can be of no help to you in that regard, Simple Cat,” she said quietly.