Total pages in book: 96
Estimated words: 92996 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 465(@200wpm)___ 372(@250wpm)___ 310(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 92996 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 465(@200wpm)___ 372(@250wpm)___ 310(@300wpm)
I listened without saying a word because I could tell she was scared. But I was also pretty certain that was the plot of a movie Amanda and I watched years ago. Just like how she now made Lorne watch police procedurals and then asked him what they got right or wrong, she did the same with me with anything paranormal. She was always so disappointed when I explained to her how things actually worked.
“It’s very recent,” Lynette said, “and I feel like it’s chasing them through the—”
We both heard it then, padded footsteps at the end of the hall, as the lights went off.
Lynette gasped and turned into me, eyes closed tight, shivering hard. “It’s some kind of animal,” she whimpered. “Which makes no sense. I don’t speak to them.”
She didn’t speak to anything, but this was not the moment to point that out. My grandmother had a friend, a medium, who had visited us when I was in elementary school. She had clarified to me the difference between being able to speak with the spirits of the dead, versus having visions of the future or hearing voices, which was more about being psychic. As far as I knew, after years of having Amanda show me Lynette’s Yelp reviews where many began with, “Psychic, my ass…,” she could not be depended on to contact the spirit realm. More telling, though, was her reassuring everyone that the Osprey Public Library was not haunted. Mrs. Radcliffe would disagree.
“Why would there be ghosts of animals in my house?” she asked.
I wasn’t certain what was there, but in this instance, she could be correct. All the ghosts of animals I’d ever seen were waiting for their people, and when they passed, the animal crossed with them. But as it was doubtful she’d listen to me, I didn’t offer an explanation. “Keep your eyes closed,” I ordered under my breath.
She bent her head, fisted her hands against her chest, and didn’t move, content, it seemed, to be close to me.
“Show me what hides in the dark,” I whispered to the fire that appeared in my hand. “Illuminate all corners.”
The flames shot out of my hand, flying away from me, and I watched intently as shadows grew large and ominous, resembling terrifying animals with open mouths full of sharp teeth, ready to pounce…but only for a moment. It was like they were absorbed back into the walls, as though living there, reined in as the light made everything visible. It was not at all normal.
“When I went down to the basement earlier, it was so cold, and the lights wouldn’t come on, but I told myself I was being stupid, and since I had my phone, I used the flashlight on that.”
I was listening to her and watching for my flames.
“But as soon as I got to the stairs to come back up, I could have sworn something was there. I ran as fast as I could, and it almost got me.”
“What?”
“I don’t know, but it growled. I swear to God.”
“Did you actually see anything outside?” I was thinking that whatever was scaring her might have come in.
“I might have seen something pass outside the window,” she responded. “But I think it was a deer.”
Or it could have been nothing.
“I called the Wellers across the street to check if they saw anything.”
Which was why Pete reported to Lorne that there was a disturbance. Things escalated so quickly in our small town, with or without facts. No one had seen a thing, but still, the calls had been made.
“I’ve been seeing things out of the corner of my eye all day.”
“In the house?”
“Inside, outside, everywhere.”
I wasn’t surprised. I could feel the weight of the stagnant air. “May I ask when was the last time you cleansed this house?”
“Never,” she confessed quietly. “Which is terrible, I know.”
“Do you?”
“I just…it would take forever to do.”
“Yes,” I agreed because she was right. The house was enormous. “But the problem is that whatever grief and pain people have been carrying in here when you have séances has stayed and is literally sticking around.”
She sighed heavily. “Do you truly believe in all that?”
“Yes,” I said, annoyed that she didn’t. “Not to mention that most of these old houses are haunted to begin with.”
“I know that, but ghosts don’t normally try and scare you. That’s why I think there’s some other entity here.”
Normally, I would have said that was unlikely. But I had no idea what had come through the rift. Conversely, I felt a lot of heavy, old energy, pain, regret, and sadness in the house. And while nothing felt malignant, I couldn’t say for certain until my flames returned. At the moment it seemed as though everything was simply hovering, stagnating, thickening by the second. I wondered when she’d last opened a window. Even a gentle breeze, meandering from room to room, could do wonders. It was why opening the windows when people were sick to let in some fresh air was so universal.