Chapter Fifteen #3
“Again, it’s my job to see the things that don’t fit.
You guys did solve some of the mystery, so don’t write yourself off.
You found out that Duncan was gay, Ciarán was his lover, and who was in the lake.
You found Oison’s bones, and you pieced it all together.
Ceit wasn’t at rest. She was waiting for someone to figure this out, and here I am. ”
Michael was honest, as he kept digging.
“I wish she was at rest. I feel bad for Ceit. As someone who lost his heart, I know how she feels.”
Graham stopped him from digging and kissed him.
“But you found it again. It all worked out, and we’re together like Duncan and Ciarán now.”
And that was the point.
Finding yourself and someone to love was a big part of living.
“I think we need to find Ceit’s for her, and finding the necklace will be a big piece of that.”
They all hoped.
When Ethan’s shovel hit something hard, they all paused. It sounded like metal on wood.
“I think we’re at his box.”
Oh, well, they all hoped so. The atmosphere was getting chillier, and there was a mist forming.
“That can’t be good,” Elizabeth said, pointing at the mist heading their way. “Did it get darker out, or am I suddenly having a medical issue?” she asked.
Oh, no, it definitely got darker.
That’s when they saw him.
“What the hell is that?” Elizabeth asked, as the horses all got spooked.
They went up on their back legs and took off, racing out of there.
Without.
Them.
Well, that couldn’t be good, now could it be?
As Graham turned, he saw something not far away, and it raced at the three men at the hole, slamming into them.
Graham fell backward, and had Michael not had excellent reflexes, he wouldn’t have caught him before he fell into the hole. Yes, it was only four feet deep, but he still could have hurt himself.
As soon as she saw him, Gabby knew who it was.
“That had to be Oison. When we looked up Ceit’s family, that’s what he reminded me of.”
Well, shit.
“I don’t like this,” Elizabeth said.
Gabby either.
“It’s like he doesn’t want us opening that grave and getting that necklace.”
Exactly.
Well, in that case, they needed to do the opposite of what the dead dude wanted.
“Bring him up.”
Reaching in, they grabbed onto the wooden box, and the three men hefted it up, the women helping once it was out of the ground.
It was placed down, and now, though, they had a problem.
“The crowbar was on the pack,” Graham admitted. “We don’t have a way into the box.”
Well, that sucked.
Yes, yes, it did.
Well, there was one way to get into the box, but it wasn’t going to be pretty.
Michael picked up the shovel.
“Well, step back,” he said, getting ready to swing it down and into the wooden box.
Because it was old, it might just give under his swing.
As he began beating on the box, there were SCREAMS and howling like someone was physically being hurt.
Jesus.
That was terrifying.
In the darkening woods, among the mist, the place seemed to be alive with a weird electricity.
Elizabeth crossed herself because when in Hell, pray for your life. Oh, and this was her kind of Hell—where she couldn’t fight it.
As the box gave way under the fourth hit, the lid shattered apart, falling into the box.
And they could see the bones.
“Can I suggest we get this done?” Graham asked. “I don’t like the feeling out here. It feels like we’re in the middle of a battle.”
Yeah, that was exactly the vibe they were each getting. Someone was NOT happy.
As they flipped the box over, the bones all came out, and with them, a very small burlap sack. It was worn, old, and threadbare.
Hopefully, this would have what they needed. So, Elizabeth picked it up.
As she did, she could feel something moving around inside of it, and she knew what it would be.
“I think this is the necklace,” she admitted. “If it’s with Oison, it’s safe to say my theory is right. He took it from Ceit before she died, or he stole it from her body when she hit the ground.”
There was sobbing.
“Okay, well, then, let it be noted on the record that he robbed it from her dead body.”
Dumping it out into her hand, the second it touched her flesh, the thing that had been watching them appeared. Oh, and it was PISSED.
It moved right at Elizabeth, as if it was going to hurt her. She gasped, but before it could slam into her, Ethan grabbed his wife, pulled her out of the way, and the two of them rolled across the ground.
And all Hell broke loose.
They heard thundering hoofbeats, and as they looked up, there were two apparitions heading their way on horseback.
Only, not horses that they owned here at the castle. They were ghostly horses, and one could see through them.
Wails began all around them, as Oison’s spirit was fixated on Elizabeth.
It moved at her as she held the necklace, but the two horsemen got in the way.
Michael had put Gabby behind him, and he and Graham backed away from the bones.
Oison kept popping in and out, closer and closer to Elizabeth.
Then, they heard it.
“CEIT! You whore!”
Well, shit.
Looking like the dead woman was likely a very bad thing at that moment.
When something grabbed her and physically tried to pull her away, Ethan grabbed onto her wrist and refused to let go. He dug in his heels and fought for his wife.
“I have you,” he said, doing one hell of a battle to keep his wife with him.
She looked scared, and he didn’t blame her.
Not.
At.
All.
He was, too.
When one of the apparitions charged at them and moved between them to shove Oison back into the grave, it was then that he pulled off his hood.
It was Duncan.
Oh, and not far away was his right-hand man. Ciarán was with him.
That’s when they heard him.
‘Destroy aw o him.’
Somehow, it was said but not said. They all clearly heard the words, but not out loud. It came from somewhere, but not a place they could pinpoint it.
Now came the hard part.
How did they destroy the bones?
Pulling a lighter from his pocket, he tossed it to Michael, who was closer. The man flipped it open, and hit the wheel with his thumb, igniting it.