Unbroken

  “You know the ghost can’t hurt you,” she said, trying to sound as calm and reassuring as possible. “He might tell you he can, but there’s nothing he can do to harm you. You don’t have to be afraid of him. You can come out!”

  Rebecca strained to hear the slightest sound. Another squeak, and then something like a whimper. And then — Aurelia.

  “I’m not afraid of him,” she called back, her voice quavering.

  “He’s not holding you?”

  “No.”

  “Then come out, OK?”

  Some rustling, and another whimper.

  “I can’t,” Aurelia said, her voice breaking into a sob. “My — my — my foot is stuck. These floorboards … they’re all rotten.”

  Rebecca exhaled with relief. Everything was going to be OK. She’d get Aurelia out of there, and they could go home. Her father would know what to do next.

  “Hang on,” she told Aurelia, gesturing to Anton for the flashlight. “I’m coming in to get you.”

  “Are you — are you by yourself?” Aurelia bleated.

  Rebecca froze. She didn’t like the sound of that question at all. She had no idea why Aurelia was even asking her that. Was the ghost planning something? Was he whispering in her ear? Was he planning to make her disappear as soon as Rebecca crossed the threshold?

  “I’m with Frank,” she lied. Frank was still lying prone in the grass, but nobody else needed to know that. She wanted Gideon Mason to think that invisibility wasn’t an option. If Frank entered the house holding her hand, she’d be able to see anything that cruel ghost was up to.

  Now Rebecca could hear mumbling, as though Aurelia and the ghost were having a conversation.

  “Ghosts can’t hurt you!” Rebecca called in through the hole in the door. She leaned closer, trying to see anything, but it was too dark. The smell of damp and mold was overpowering. “Remember that, Relia! They can only hurt each other!”

  Aurelia whimpered again.

  “I’m going in,” Rebecca mouthed to Anton. “Wait.”

  He frowned at her, shaking his head. She understood: He didn’t want her to go into the dark house alone. But something nagged at her; something wasn’t quite right. Better to have Anton out here — a secret, a surprise — just in case. Rebecca held up her hand to him, stopping him from following her up the stairs, and Anton stepped back onto the grass. She held a finger to her lips, and he nodded.

  The flashlight wasn’t much use in a house that was falling down. Rebecca shone it through the hole in the door, illuminating bare posts, dangling vines, a broken upturned chair. The place looked like it had been ransacked and smelled as though it had been left to rot in a swamp. She had to bend down to climb through the gap, tapping with one foot to make sure the floor was secure enough to take her weight. A giant rust-colored roach scuttled across the floor and ran straight over her foot. Rebecca shuddered in disgust.

  She was all the way in now and upright, brushing a spider’s web off her face.

  “Aurelia!” Rebecca called, her voice echoing. She wished Anton was in here with her, because this strange messed-up place, consumed by darkness, was scary. Her legs were shaking. No wonder poor Aurelia was terrified. But Rebecca had to be brave, and not stand here cowering in what must have once been a kitchen.

  She took a few more tentative steps forward, through an opening where the door had been kicked in. It lay flat on the ground, laced with vines. Before her lay the main room of the house, a jumble of stripped walls and exposed posts. The remains of a brick fireplace stood stranded in the middle of the room. In front of it lay a ripped mattress, spewing stuffing and sprinkled with dusty broken glass. It didn’t look as though anyone had slept on that for a long time.

  Rebecca beamed a ray of light into the far corner, willing herself to keep her hand steady. When she saw Gideon Mason slumped there, she almost dropped the flashlight. But he made no move at all. He just lay there, his back to the wall, clutching the old wound in his chest. His face was twisted with pain. Frank must have fought him hard and long, Rebecca thought. And even though the sight of this awful man made her jumpy, at least he wasn’t holding onto Aurelia.

  “Aurelia?” she said, circling the ray of light around the room. Why couldn’t she find her? Rebecca took another step in, then another.

  “I’m stuck,” Aurelia whimpered, but Rebecca still couldn’t see her. She glared at Gideon Mason, slumped in the corner.

  “What were you thinking?” she asked him.

  “I wanted her to crawl under the house,” he croaked, struggling to sit up.

  “What, in the dark?”

  “No matter — your English boy turned up and tried to act the big man, fighting me. Shame he didn’t do that when he was alive….”

  “Whatever,” she said. Rebecca took a few more tentative steps toward the chimney breast, careful of where she was placing her feet. She didn’t want to end up stuck herself. “It’s OK, Relia. The ghost can’t hurt you. I’m here.”

  “Oh, yes, you are,” said a male voice, and a light flickered on: It was an electric lantern, sitting on the mantel. Rebecca blinked, trying to adjust her eyes.

  Toby Sutton stepped out of the shadows, dragging Aurelia with him. A crowbar dangled from one hand. The other hand was around Aurelia’s neck.

  “Toby!” Rebecca shouted. Rage surged through her — rage and fear. And the louder she shouted, the more Anton was likely to hear. They needed a Plan B in a hurry. Thank God he hadn’t come in with her.

  “Who were you talking to just then? ‘Frank’?” Toby demanded. He couldn’t see Gideon Mason, Rebecca realized. Gideon had made himself visible to Toby before; why wasn’t he doing it now? Maybe he knew he had more power over Toby if Toby thought he was real. He’d “arrive” later, once Toby had the locket in his hand.

  “And let me guess,” Toby continued. “Frank is your little ghost friend. That’s what your stupid cousin just told me. Which means you’ve either brainwashed her or she’s as dumb as she looks.”

  Toby gripped poor Aurelia as though she were a rag doll. She gazed up at Rebecca, eyes smudged with tears, clearly terrified out of her wits.

  “Let her go!” Rebecca ordered Toby in her most imperious voice. “She doesn’t know where the locket’s hidden! She’s of no use to you!”

  “I don’t know about that,” he sneered. “She led me here, didn’t she? And now you’re here, so it’s all working out pretty well. Aw, what happened to your poor little neck? Did a bad man hurt you?”

  Rebecca clenched the flashlight. If she was standing any closer, she could lunge forward and clunk Toby over the head with it. But he was too far away, and if she made the slightest move forward he’d hurt Aurelia. She knew he would. Toby would hurt Aurelia just as he’d hurt Rebecca today — not because it would help him find the locket, but just to show he could. What Rebecca had to do right now was play for time and hope that Anton — and the others, if they ever arrived — could get her and Aurelia out of this mess.

  “Where’s your boyfriend?” Toby sneered. “Got bored looking for you at Jazz Fest? Or is he out buying you more jewelry? Tell him to get something with a stronger chain next time. That one broke way too easily.”

  “Leave Anton out of this,” Rebecca shouted. “He took me home after Jazz Fest. He doesn’t know anything about this place. He’s never been to Tremé in his life.”

  “Why would he?” Toby looked around the collapsing house with contempt. “They should burn this whole neighborhood down. Move everyone into projects. Better still, move them all to Texas. Or straight to prison, ’cause that’s where most of them’ll end up anyway.”

  “You’ll be able to hang out with them there, won’t you?” Everything Toby said enraged Rebecca. “Because unless you let Aurelia go, that’s where you’re …”

  Rebecca was too startled to finish her sentence. Frank had just walked in, straight through the front wall of the house. He stood gazing at her, his blue eyes bright as the sky.

  R
ebecca had never been so happy to see Frank. He’d take her hand, so Toby couldn’t see her, and then she could bash Toby with her flashlight. She could knock him out, she was sure.

  But before Frank could reach her, Gideon Mason grabbed his legs and pulled him down hard onto the floor. Now they were fighting again, rolling on the floor, and through the wall and back, punching each other and groaning in agony when the other got a jab in at a wound.

  Aurelia gasped, and Toby shook her.

  “Shut up!” he bellowed. “What are you two staring at?”

  Rebecca tried to think clearly. She could make a break for it, running over to Frank and grabbing his hand, but that would put her out of range with Toby: There was no point in being invisible over there in the corner. And by the time she dragged Frank away from the other ghost, Toby could have struck Aurelia with the crowbar.

  “Stop staring over there!” Toby roared. He pushed Aurelia forward a few steps and peered toward the dark corner where the ghosts were fighting. All he could see, Rebecca guessed, were floors and walls and what looked like a tree branch. “You’re not gonna fool me with some stupid trick! I’m tired of your games!”

  “Toby, just let Aurelia go,” Rebecca pleaded. Maybe Toby would listen to reason. “She really doesn’t know where the locket is.”

  “We both know. It’s under the floorboards. Why’d you think I brought this with me?” Toby waggled the crowbar.

  Rebecca tried to hide her fear. “So what — you’re going to pull up every floorboard in this house, and hang onto Aurelia at the same time? How long will that take? Sure, Aurelia knows it’s under the floorboards. I know that, too. But where exactly? The man who brought Aurelia here today — even he doesn’t know exactly where it is.”

  “Who are you talking about?” Toby looked at her with contempt. “There wasn’t any man bringing her here. She came by herself. I was following her!”

  “The man was Gideon Mason!” Rebecca spat back. “You couldn’t see him today because he’s a ghost!”

  “Yeah, right,” scoffed Toby. He tapped on the floor with the claw of the crowbar. “You’re still trying this?” he said. “You think just because you had some ghost pal last year, who helped you to murder my friend, that you can come up with another pathetic little ghost story this year — and what? Scare me? I’ve met Gideon Mason. He’s no friend of yours, and he’s no ghost.”

  “He is a ghost,” bleated Aurelia. Toby silenced her with a glare, tightening his grip around her neck.

  “Leave her alone!” Rebecca shrieked. She couldn’t stand this. “Frank! Help us!”

  “Stop it!” demanded Toby. He whacked the crowbar against the floor to get her attention. “Stop pretending there are all these ghosts! Now listen to me. I’m gonna burn down this house and all of us in it unless you start listening and doing what I say.”

  There was a scuffle and a creak, and now someone else was in the room with them. Ling!

  “What the —” Toby roared, and Rebecca kind of agreed with him. What was going on? Where was Delphine? Why didn’t Ling hold Delphine’s hand and sneak in through the back door, so she’d be invisible to Toby? What were they thinking out there? That Rebecca and Ling could overpower Toby by themselves? That Ling could break up the ghost fight?

  Ling was clearly on some kind of mission, because she’d run straight to the corner where Frank and the other ghost were still fighting.

  “You! Stop right there!” Toby shouted. “Or I’ll …”

  He held up the crowbar and gestured at Aurelia. Ling was already standing still, breathing heavily, and shooting anxious looks at Rebecca.

  “And you!” Toby gestured at Rebecca. “Roll me that flashlight. Now! Then get over there.”

  She rolled the flashlight along the floor toward him, then backed away toward the corner where Ling was standing very still. Even if she had the flashlight, Rebecca knew she’d be out of range all the way over here. Where were the boys? Where was Delphine? Ghosts could walk through walls, but Anton and Phil were going to have to come through the hole in the door.

  If they were thinking of rushing Toby, it wasn’t going to work. He was the one with the weapons. Even if Delphine smuggled them in and they tried pouncing on Toby, Aurelia could end up badly hurt. Toby was strong, and he was cunning, and he was violent. It was just too risky.

  “So now I got three stupid girls,” he was saying. “And that means I can get rid of three stupid girls at once.”

  He tapped something with his foot, something Rebecca hadn’t noticed before. It was a gasoline can. Her stomach churned. She should have known. Where Toby Sutton went, arson always followed.

  “Anyone tries to jump me, this whole place is going down.”

  Out of the corner of one eye, Rebecca could see Frank struggling to push away from Gideon. They were both exhausted now, twitching on the floor; maybe Frank had a slight advantage, maybe not.

  A chill breeze blew through the thin walls, ruffling Rebecca’s hair. Delphine! She floated in, beaming at Frank. If only they were standing closer to Toby!

  Frank had managed to roll himself almost free and Delphine wafted toward him. Rebecca wouldn’t have believed it was possible if she hadn’t seen it herself, but the sweet Delphine, the girl who’d spent more than a century languishing on the gallery of an old Creole town house, leaned over and walloped Gideon Mason right in his wound. He doubled up in agony, and Delphine’s face puckered, as though she’d just eaten something sour. Frank was up on his knees now, gripping his own wound, but Mason lay curled up and groaning. And then Delphine was gone, sucked back through the wall. Rebecca looked at Ling. What was going on? Were the ghosts ever going to stop with the revenge fantasies and get on with helping the living?

  “I told you before,” growled Toby. “Stop looking in that corner!”

  “Please, Toby,” said Ling. “Let’s work something out. Let us look for the locket, and if we find it we do a trade. We give you the locket. You give us Aurelia.”

  “Shut up!” he snapped. “Like you’re going to give me the locket. You were rude to my sister. I know who you are.”

  “We give you the locket,” Ling repeated. “You give us Aurelia. That’s a fair trade.”

  Was Ling serious? Was this the plan? Ling sounded impressively cool, given the situation.

  “I’m worried about you, Toby,” Ling was saying. “I’m worried that you’re in a bad dream. I’m worried that you may be seeing things that aren’t real. But it’s just a bad dream — isn’t it, Toby? It’s just a bad dream….”

  “Stop talking!” Toby’s eyes were wild. What was Ling up to? Rebecca had no clue. Frank was right behind them now; she could sense him rather than see him. Rebecca glanced over her shoulder, as quick as she dared. He’d shuffled up on his knees. He was close enough to touch.

  “But what if you are seeing things, Toby?” Ling’s voice was hypnotic. “How about if, on the count of three, we just disappeared?”

  “One,” said Frank. “Two. Three.”

  Rebecca felt his hand on hers. She grasped it.

  Ling must have done the same, because Aurelia was still gazing at them, wide-eyed, and Toby was roaring with rage. And Delphine was back now as well, floating from the back door. This time she ignored Gideon Mason, slowly making for the center of the room. She positioned herself right in front of Rebecca and Ling, then raised her hands. Suddenly Anton, and a dazed-looking Phil, materialized on either side of Delphine. She must have been holding their hands, Rebecca realized, with a thrill of triumph. Aurelia gasped, and Toby jerked his head. The boys said nothing. They just stared at Toby.

  “Get out of here!” he shouted. He looked more scared than angry now.

  “One, two, three,” counted Delphine, grasping Anton and Phil’s hands. The boys disappeared at the exact moment that Frank let Ling and Rebecca go. Aurelia didn’t seem so freaked out now: She knew about ghosts and their disappearing acts, and must have figured out what was going on. But Toby stared, openmouthed. All
he could see were the girls.

  “It’s a bad, bad dream,” Ling said again in that monotonous, whispery voice. Frank counted again, and they dropped his hands. Now they were invisible, and the boys materialized again.

  Toby stood perfectly still, watching Phil and Anton appear and then disappear, replaced — so it must have seemed — by Ling and Rebecca. The look on his face was that of a cornered animal, frozen in the spotlight. Rebecca would have felt sorry for him, if he hadn’t been such a vicious brute.

  Nobody spoke now, not even Ling, though the house was creaking and complaining in the wind, floorboards squeaking. Rain pattered onto the roof. The thunder growled like a wild animal moving in for the kill.

  “Stop!” Toby’s voice was a strangled scream, still clutching Aurelia. “Or I’ll smash her head in, I swear!”

  “Let her go.” A deep voice boomed out of the shadows, startling Rebecca so much she almost let go of Frank’s hand. Just visible in the half-light, looming behind Toby, was Raf. He must have crept in, Rebecca thought, while everyone else distracted Toby with their disappearing act.

  “Let her go,” he said again, in a hard voice Rebecca had never heard him use before. “Or I’ll shoot.”

  Toby drew his hand away from Aurelia’s neck and she scrambled to safety, circling around the boys and throwing herself at Rebecca. Rebecca drew her trembling cousin close, patting her back.

  “This is OUR house,” growled Raf. Toby buckled forward, as though Raf was jabbing him in the back. Did he really have a gun? “What you doin’ in OUR house, white boy? Drop it!”

  The crowbar crashed to the ground: Toby was beaten.

  Rebecca realized she’d been holding her breath. She hung onto Aurelia with her free hand, fighting back tears.

  Anton let go of Delphine’s hand and walked forward.