Chapter 19
Jacques jumps over the fire, landing right in front of me. His wings spread out behind him and block out the heat of the flames.
“Ace,” he exclaims, nostrils flaring. He looks down at the ropes around my wrist and runs his finger over them, knowing they’re soaked in oil.
“Hang on,” he says, and slips his arm around me.
He kicks the chair, breaking the wooden legs.
He holds me up, keeping me from falling, and kicks it again, bringing me to my feet.
My wrists are still tied to the wooden arms of the chair, and in a swift movement, Jacques breaks one of them in two, freeing my right hand.
“We have to smother the flames,” I tell him, looking past him at the fire.
“Stay here.”
He whirls around and Beth screams. I go to Gemma, looking at the shackle on her ankle.
It’s clamped on tight and has rubbed her skin raw.
Jacques pulls his wings in and crosses over the fire.
My heart leaps out of my chest and I reach for him, but it’s too late.
He made it past the flames. I blink, knowing he’s alive but not unharmed.
A moment later he throws part of the door to the cellar down, landing on top of the main part of the fire. Dirt and flames whoosh out as the wood hits the ground. The board cuts off the oxygen and the fire takes a hit.
“Ace,” he calls, and I shake my head.
“She’s tied up.” I look past Jac at Beth and Amos. “Where’s the key?”
Beth whimpers but doesn’t move. Amos grabs her wrist and tugs her toward the stairs, stopping when he sees Jacques standing in his way. Jacques’s eyes shine like stained glass and he swoops down the remaining steps. Amos and Beth scurry past, disappearing up the stairs.
The fire isn’t out yet, and I know we’re at risk of things going up in flames again. Jacques rushes over to us and grabs the end of the metal chain. Like the chair, it’s been bolted down deep into the earth, too far down for a human to pull free.
But Jacques isn’t human.
He yanks the chain and the dry ground cracks.
He tugs again, and the stake buried below the surface breaks free.
Seeing how weak Gemma is, Jac picks her up and hurries up the stairs.
I waste no time following after them, gulping in fresh air as soon as I hit the ground.
Jacques keeps walking, putting a safe amount of distance between us and the root cellar.
Beth is on the ground crying, and Amos is crouched next to her, praying as he holds his arms around her to protect her from the devil.
“Do you have your phone on you?” I ask Jacques.
He sets Gemma down in the dewy grass. “Yes.” He pulls it from his back pocket and turns to go back to the root cellar.
“Jac, no!”
“I’m going to put out the flames.”
“But you might—”
“I’ll be fine.” He holds my gaze for a second and hurries forward, ripping the remaining part of the cellar door from its hinges. I hold my breath as I watch, heart racing and a sick feeling in my stomach building.
“Call 911,” I tell Gemma, and give her the phone. I sprint back, eyes on the yellow glow coming from the cellar. Right as I get there, it goes dark. Jac emerges from the cellar and I throw my arms around him.
“Are you okay?”
“I’m fine, Ace. Are you? I felt your fear. I felt it before I woke up.”
“How is that possible?” I shake my head. “It doesn’t matter.” I let my eyes fall shut for a second, pulling Jacques closer. His body pressed up against mine is everything I need right now.
He runs his hands over my hair, pushing me away so he can inspect me. He needs to see for himself that I’m okay. I am, thanks to him. But Gemma…she’s not okay. I move away from Jacques and round on Beth and Amos.
“Don’t even think about going anywhere,” I say through gritted teeth.
“I’ll watch them.” Jacques spreads his wings, tipping his head as he curiously looks at them.
I rush back over to Gemma. She’s on the ground, phone held out in front of her.
She put it on speaker, and the 911 dispatcher says help is on the way.
The glow of the screen illuminates her face enough for me to see the bags under her eyes.
“Ace,” she starts, eyes filling with tears.
“It’s okay.”
“No, it’s not.” The phone falls from her hand and she breaks down. “I’m so sorry.”
Emotion tugs at my chest, and I put an arm around her. She turns in, hugging me, and cries. She’s burning up.
“You’re gonna be all right,” I tell her, patting her back.
And she will. She lets out a ragged breath and rests her head on my shoulder.
It’ll be a while before the police arrive.
I gently move away from Gemma and help her to her feet.
My car isn’t far, and it’s not locked. Hooking my arm around her, I lead her there, laying the passenger seat back and helping her in.
“Sit tight,” I tell her, and put Jac’s phone on the dash. The dispatcher is still on the line, asking Gemma if she’s all right. I go back across the yard, taking a spot next to Jacques. He takes my hand, pulling me close.
“I knew you worshiped the devil,” Beth stammers.
I wrinkle my nose and flick my eyes to Jac.
“It’s more like he worships me.” I crouch down, narrowing my eyes to help see in the dark.
“You made a big mistake. There is evil in this world. The devil does bad things. I agree with you. You’re not totally wrong there.
But Gemma…she’s not evil. Misguided, yes, but can you blame the girl?
She grew up with you two lunatics.” I let out a sigh.
There’s no point getting into it with them.
They’re not going to change their minds right now.
And to be fair, I remember how I felt the first time I saw the guys. “Where’s my stuff?” I ask instead.
“Stuff?” Amos answers.
“My gun and my purse.”
My badge is still hanging around my neck.
“Inside,” Beth stammers. “On the table.”
“Watch them?” I ask Jac. He nods and I move slowly toward the house. Everything is so dark here. I go in through the front door and see a candle flickering right inside. I go to it, still on edge, and make a move to pick it up.
I stop myself, remembering I’m covered in kerosene.
I don’t want to take chances with the candle.
Feeling my way through the house, I go into the kitchen.
Another small kerosene lantern sits on the table, flame almost extinguished.
It lets off just enough light for me to see my gun and purse lying on the table.
I grab the gun, check to make sure it’s still loaded, and put it back in my holster.
Heart racing, I open my purse and immediately go for the zipper pouch. All four runes are still there. I pull out my phone and turn on the flashlight, shining it in front of me as I hurry out of the house.
I join Jac again, standing there until the familiar red and blue flashing lights come down the road.
I run toward them, waving my phone in the air to get the cop’s attention.
An ambulance is close behind. The police officer slows his car, having seen me.
This will all be over soon and we can go—oh shit.
Jac.
I whirl around to tell him to hide, but he’s pulling the concealment charm out of his pocket. He slips it over his head and his wings disappear. God, I love that man and his cleverness.
The EMTs see to Gemma right away and get her loaded up to go to the hospital. I turn the case over to the local cops, not wanting to be involved in this any more than I already am. I’m supposed to be on vacation anyway, right? I give a statement but don’t do anything more official than that.
Once Beth and Amos are arrested and we’re free to leave, Jac and I get in the car. As soon as he closes his door, Jac leans over and kisses me.
“I love you, Ace,” he says, lips still against mine.
“I love you, too.” I cup his face, pushing my lips against his once more. “I’m so glad you got here in time, you know.”
He smiles. “Yeah. I do.”
“This is terrible.” Jacques scowls at his cup of coffee.
“It’s from a vending machine.” I take the lid off mine and blow into the cup to help cool it down. I sit on a bench, looking at Jacques. He’s wearing a white button-down shirt. It’s too tight on him, but it was the best we could do, having taken it from Amos’s house.
Jacques has a few burns on his body we needed to cover up. He can’t be treated at the hospital like a regular human, because he’s not. He’ll heal while he sleeps and isn’t in too much pain right now, thankfully.
The doors to the ER open, and a nurse comes out, looking down at a clipboard. “Detective Bisset?”
“That’s me.” I get up and go over by her. “How’s she doing?”
“I’ll take you back.”
I turn around, meeting Jac’s eyes. He gives me a small nod, letting me know he’s fine sitting there. He’s never been inside a hospital before, and I think he’s a little disappointed it’s not as crazy busy as they are on TV.
Gemma is sitting up in the hospital bed, watching TV. She’s hooked up to an IV, and has been cleaned up a bit, with her hair pulled back.
“Hey,” I say to her, setting my nasty coffee down on the counter. “How are you feeling?”
“Much better.”
“You look better already.”
“She still has a ways to go,” the nurse says gently. She checks Gemma’s vitals, and the doctor comes in to talk to us. Gemma has pneumonia and is dehydrated. The doctor doesn’t seem overly concerned, and thinks she’ll be out of here in a few days.
“I can’t force you to stay,” the doctor says. “But I highly recommend you do. You need fluids and antibiotics, as well as close monitoring for the next twenty-four hours at least.”
I know she’s scared and wants to go—actually, I don’t know where she wants to go. I assume she planned on returning to work eventually, so she’d go back to her house in the city.
“Could I at least be transferred to a hospital in Philly? That’s where I live,” she says.
The doctor frowns. “Traveling isn’t a good idea right now, unless you’re bussed by ambulance.
I can have that arranged for you, but it’s not cheap.
” The doctor gives Gemma a sympathetic look.
“I know you’ve been through a lot in the last few weeks.
But it’s important you get treated right this time. ”
“I know.” Gemma blinks back tears. The doctor talks to her for a few more minutes and then leaves. The nurse puts in an order for a room, and tells Gemma a room will be ready for her soon.
“Ace,” Gemma says after the nurse leaves.
“It’s okay.” I know where she’s going with this. I sit on the foot of the bed. “I’m not mad at you anymore.”
“Really?”
“Really. I wouldn’t have come all the way out to Amish country to check on you if I was still pissed.”
She smiles. “Yeah. That makes sense.” Sighing, she adjusts her pillow. “I don’t want to stay here, but going home seems weird too.”
“Actually,” I start. “You can stay with me for a day or two if you need to. You’ll still be weak for a while. Though actually, right now it is probably safer if you stay here.”
“Why, because of that…that guy?”
“Jacques won’t hurt you, so no. It’s because I accidentally opened a rift between this world and the spirit world and a ghost got out, and right now she’s going around attacking people.
You’re probably safe because so far she’s only going after men who went to a certain waterfall about two hours from here, but let’s not take any chances. ”
Gemma looks at me with a blank stare, as if she’s waiting for me to tell her I’m joking.
“What?”
“Long story. I’ll tell you later.”
She nods, brow furrowed. “And that guy…Jacques is his name? You…you knew him. Pretty well, I think.”
“I do. He’s my boyfriend.”
“I thought you were dating those twins I saw you with.”
“I am. I’m dating them all.”
Gemma’s mouth falls open and she slowly shakes her head back and forth. “What…what is he?”
“Remember how Marissa told you demons protect me?”
“Oh my god, are they—”
“No. They’re not demons. Not even close. They’re gargoyles.”