Chapter 13
THIRTEEN
I urged Octavia, Wilson, and December onto the porch. The EMF readings showed the entity had left. But after witnessing the large void it had conjured, I didn’t want to take any chances.
“Rae, what the hell happened?” December asked in a rushed whisper. Her and Wilson were confused when Octavia and I bounded down the stairs worried about their safety.
“An event.” I wiped the back of my hand across my mouth, trying to slow my breathing enough to focus on replaying the scene.
I tried to pick through every detail without panic tainting my judgment.
But the more I gripped calm, the more powerful it grew, becoming a ghost, resisting a peaceful transition.
“An event?” December crossed her arms over her chest, forehead creased. “I didn’t see anything. It completely isolated you two?”
I nodded numbly. I’d never had a job where a spirit could create such a massive event.
Some spirits could pre-plan their haunts.
Meditate on their actions. But precision was damn near impossible because even with the highest ability to focus, the dead couldn’t control their every move.
Their actions were like attempts at agency in a dream, working for a little while before falling apart.
“Let me see.” Wilson reached for his sister, mouth turned downward as he noted the bruising on her neck.
The discoloration spread. Tomorrow there would be swelling.
If I hadn’t been keeping an ear out for her reappearance, obsessing over seeing her again, then I wouldn’t have gone looking for her.
My stomach lurched at the thought of her alone with that thing before I’d gotten to her.
Had there been signs before now? Hints of its intense power that I’d overlooked?
“It’s fine,” Octavia murmured, but she sat down in a rocking chair, letting her brother inspect the damage.
Wilson glanced at me for a second, his eyes narrowed. “Well, Jones? How are you all fixing this? Because honestly, this shit’s gotten worse since you’ve shown up.”
December gave me a subtle uh-oh look. The energy of raging clients was almost as powerful as that of fearful ones. Between Wilson’s fury and Octavia’s new anxiety, they provided a hearty source for a spirit to feed on…my churning gut was throwing “abort mission” options into the mix.
“Wil,” Octavia warned. “If she hadn’t come up there when she did, I don’t know if I’d be sitting here.”
He scoffed. Hell, I agreed with him. Things escalated the moment we got here. And I couldn’t say with certainty that the direction we marched in would be the right one.
“We’re getting closer to the solution. That’s most likely why the attacks are escalating.” December tried to stand taller. She glanced my way, hoping I’d buff up her defense.
“Every encounter gets us closer,” I agreed in a whisper. My vision blurred. I needed to sit, my ankle pounding as my adrenaline cooled down. I opted to lean against the porch railing instead, conscious that sitting at a time like this would look like admitting defeat.
“And how many more close encounters do you think Octavia will survive?” he asked point-blank. “First the nightmare, now an all-out assault. Does she have to die for you to know what it’ll take to end this?”
“No one’s dying.” I pressed my nails into my palm, willing myself to stop replaying the shadow of horror on Octavia’s face when the entity mocked her. She clung to me for dear life, and all I could offer her were words. Hollow promises.
Octavia was right; I was a brilliant liar. That’d never bothered me before, but now it came with high risk and low reward. Things weren’t falling into place with this job. There’d be no faking it till I made it. I had to be right, or I had to step aside for someone better to do it.
If you had let the monitoring finish during her nightmare, you would have had a hint of this power level. And then, you would have known she wasn’t safe on her own while on-site.
I bit down so hard on my inner cheek I tasted blood.
The RV appeared on the horizon, kicking up dirt and hope. I bounded down the stairs, ignoring the pain sparking up my ankle as I went toward them before they had barely parked.
“Well?” I asked.
Jonah’s shoulders sagged as he got out of the RV. Nico studied me and then switched his gaze to the Daniel siblings, frowning as he asked, “What happened?”
“An event.” I sucked in a breath, motioning for them to follow me back to the porch. “It was around eight to nine minutes. A full dark veil trapped Octavia and me on all sides. It’s…chatty. Escalating in violence.”
“No shit,” Nico murmured when he got a look at Octavia’s neck. “You okay?”
“Fine.” She didn’t meet his gaze, wouldn’t meet any of ours.
I sniffed, looking toward the yard for a second to ground myself. My throat burned as I watched the last bit of daylight stain the sky red. The automatic porch light flickered on, a ghostly white light that hurt my eyes.
“It didn’t cross a salt circle,” I continued. “And didn’t make itself known to Wilson and December downstairs.”
December kneeled in front of Octavia, getting a closer look at the injury. In a gentle voice, she asked, “Is it alright if I check for damage? We may need to take you to a hospital.”
My eyes burned when Octavia winced as she tilted her head up for inspection. I clung to my neck, pressing a thumb to my pounding pulse.
“This is…” Nico touched my upper arm, guiding me to the other end of the porch. “Something strong and tactical. Have you ever seen a cat five this strong yet restrained? Most spirits would have killed by now, right? Even if the kill’s accidental.”
“Right.” I squeezed my eyes shut for a second; a pounding headache placed spots in my vision. I needed to eat. I needed to sleep. I needed to be a million and one times better than who I was right now because there was no time left for second-guessing.
“This escalation,” I whispered. “Started when we got here. So, it’s strong enough to siphon fear fast. Lucid enough to understand it’s on a time crunch. The recharge rate’s…”
“Impressive.” Nico filled in. He ran his hand over his jaw. Worry didn’t take up as much space as intrigue did in his eyes.
“Dangerous,” I said in a hard voice. None of this stuff impressed me anymore. The burning behind my eyes evolved into a burning in my veins. I couldn’t be curious when holding that woman in my arms and not knowing what it’d take to ensure her safety once I let go.
Nico touched my elbow. “What’s wrong? You’re…Rae, we’ve done plenty of jobs like this before. Just because the highest type—”
“The remains were our only option.” I didn’t have the stomach for comfort and optimism. I didn’t deserve it.
“Are,” Nico corrected. “They are, and we’re going to find them.”
“You think you can track them down before another event? Do you think they’re even in this town?”
“The grounds.” Wilson wheeled to us. Jonah and December still tended to a wincing Octavia. I could barely look in her direction, angling myself so my peripheral vision didn’t pick up her slow movements.
“What?” I asked.
“People bury loved ones on their property all the time,” Wilson explained.
“You think Arnold’s buried on the ranch?” Nico asked.
“It’s worth a shot.” He nudged his chin toward their acres of land. “When we did an initial drive around the property before purchase, we passed a couple of huge trees and a few ponds. If I were going to bury someone, I’d do it there.”
Nico nodded. “Seems like a good idea.”
“Alright.” I placed my hands on my hips and took a deep breath. No matter how straight I tried to stand, I only felt a few inches tall. “We’ll start with water. People gravitate to those for peace. How many ponds are on the property?”
“There are five.” Octavia’s voice was dry and gravelly.
“You need to limit your speaking,” December murmured, almost pleading.
“How long do you think it’d take to cover all five?” I directed the question to Wilson.
He shrugged. “An hour. Maybe two? They’re spread out.”
“We need Esther,” December said.
“Sure, we can ask her to backtrack, but we can’t wait for her to show up,” Nico said.
“I think it’s best and safest if we look immediately.
If this thing’s as lucid as it seems, it’s probably listening and knows exactly where we’re going.
We can’t assume it’ll wait until it’s fully rested to try and attack again. ”
“Right.” I dug into my back pocket, fingers still shaking as I pulled out the map of the ranch I now carried around like a lucky charm. Another folded-up piece of paper fell out, the sticky note with Octavia’s name on it. I shoved it back into my pocket before the others could see.
“We’ll split up,” I said quickly. “Wilson, are you up for joining? Octavia’s in no shape to help, and you’re the only other person here who’s been to these parts of the ranch. We’ll be quicker with your eye.”
He nodded. “I’m in.”
I spread the map on the ground, and everyone formed a circle around it. “We’ll have three teams. Home team: December and Octavia—”
“I need to be in the field,” December said. “I’m faster than Jonah.”
I sighed and glanced at Jonah. His eyes were big, but there was no desire to protest there. Shit. He was freezing up on us. Another one of my shortcomings, my failure to guide him through this type of crisis.
“We don’t have time for a teachable moment, Rae,” Nico said. “Put her in.”
“Right.” I sighed. December was faster, but that’s why I trusted her more here, protecting Octavia. But if my cousin helped us find the bones faster, then that’d go further in protecting Octavia.
“December and I will go together.” I pushed the map closer to Wilson, so he’d have an easier time pointing out where we should start.
“There are two closest to the house,” Wilson said. “I think we should start there and leave the farthest one for last. By that time, we will all be done searching and be able to meet at the final one if it comes to that.”
“Are you guys taking the west or east?” I asked.