He snorted as Yutani took one of the ladders from him and leaned it up against the wall.
“All the time, babe. All the time. Hey, the locksmith finished and I paid him. He’s gone. I put the receipt on the counter. Now, get up, woman.” He strode over to me and reached out for my hand. I gave it to him and he pulled me to my feet. “We’re about to paint your living room and you aren’t going to lie there and play supervisor.”
I laughed, dusting my hands on my jeans. “Fine, then. I’ll just be too tired for any nook-nook tonight.”
“Nook-nook? Is that what we’re calling it now?” he asked. He handed me a paint roller. “What color is the ceiling going to be? We need to paint it first.” He glanced up at the top of the walls, frowning. “Why didn’t you tape it off?”
“Ceiling’s the same color as the walls, so it doesn’t matter.”
“Yes, my love, but you have crown molding, and that does need to be taped off on both sides unless you plan on painting it.”
I blushed. “Yeah, I guess you’re right.”
Viktor and Angel reemerged from the upstairs. Viktor was half-ogre, and he was tall enough to almost reach the ceiling with his arms outstretched.
“I’ll do it. Give me a roll of tape.” He shouldered one of the stepladders and carried it over to the wall. As we watched, he made quick work of taping off the crown molding, and I stared, open-mouthed, startled by how quickly the half-ogre could move. He was burly, and with his bald head, looked like a rough-and-tumble biker. Or bouncer. Or maybe thug.
Angel motioned for me to join her in the foyer.
“I might be imagining it, but I think I felt something upstairs. Something jostled my elbow, like when you’re walking down the street in a crowd. I looked around, but there wasn’t anybody close by, but I definitely felt a presence and it wasn’t just a cat spirit or anything like that.” A worried light shone in her eyes.
“I felt something too,” I said. “But I wasn’t sure. Did you get a sense of what they wanted? Whoever they are?”
She bit her lip, shaking her head. “No, but I did feel a sensation of antagonism. Whoever it is, they aren’t happy the house is full.”
So we had visitors after all. I had learned over the years to rely on Angel’s premonitions and intuition. She was accurate most of the time. I took a deep breath and motioned to the stairs.
“Show me where you felt it.”
She led me upstairs to my bedroom.
Just peachy. We had an uninvited visitor and they decided to park themselves in my room. I walked over to the window and gazed down at the side yard. We considered our backyard to be the lot next door. I had a master bath, and there was a Jack-and-Jill between Angel’s room and the third bedroom, then another half-bath downstairs. We also had a sparsely finished basement, which wasn’t included in the square footage but which we could fix up and make livable.
As I leaned against the window frame, looking down at the side yard, which was overgrown with all sorts of bushes and plants, a sharp slap between my shoulders jolted me forward and I managed to catch myself before slamming into the window. I whirled to see Angel’s horrified face as she stood across the room.
“What the hell?”
“I saw a blur behind you, and then you went hurtling forward.” She held out her hands, closing her eyes. “Whoever did that, knock it off.” Her tone shifted from concerned to pissed. It took a lot to make Angel angry, but when something triggered her, it was best to be downwind.
I glanced around, trying to pinpoint anything that stood out in the room. “Listen, we own this house now, and you’re not welcome to stick around unless you play nice. Whoever you are.”
At that point, a sound to the side alerted me and I ducked as the lid from one of the paint cans flew off and sailed across the room like a Frisbee. It passed by me, right where my neck would have been.
“Mother pus bucket!” Whatever freakshow ghost this was, it meant business.
Angel shouted as the paint can suddenly rose in the air and lurched across the room at me, spilling paint everywhere on the floors. I ducked again, and while the can missed me, the paint did not. A wide splash of lilac splattered across me.
“Fuck you, too.” I was pissed now. Annoying us in our own home was rude, but we could deal with it. Trying to behead me, then covering me with paint? Not so forgivable.
There was a noise on the stairs as Viktor came racing into the room, followed by Herne and Talia. Yutani was hot on their heels.
“What the hell happened?” Herne looked around, staring at the paint can and lid and the paint that was splattered everywhere.
“We seem to have a visitor. Or rather, a temper tantrum–throwing spirit who seems highly incensed that we are in this house.” I finished on a shout as I tried to wipe a glob of paint off my face, but all I succeeded in doing was smearing it into my hair and down my chin. “Fuck.”
Herne was staring at me, his eyes glittering.
“Don’t you laugh,” I warned him.
“I’m trying not to.” But he wasn’t trying very hard.
“Hey, that damned ghost tried to behead me.” I told them about being pushed toward the window and the flying lid and can, and that seemed to sober him right up.
“You’re right, it’s not a laughing matter. Paint is one thing, but when you’re being attacked, that’s quite another.” The smile vanished off his face and he glanced around the room. “We need someone who can deal with ghosts, and we need them pronto.”
“What about Kamaria?” Talia asked.
Yutani groaned. “Can’t you think of somebody else?”
“Not if you want top of the line.” She crossed her arms, then turned to Viktor. “Can you grab a roll of paper towels for Ember?”
He raced off, looking relieved to be out of the conversation.
“Who’s Kamaria?” Angel asked.
Herne let out a sigh. “Kamaria is a medium. She’s really good, but she’s arrogant, and she can be annoying as hell. But we’ve had to call her in a few times to take care of matters for us and she’s the best, if you need serious help. All right, give her a call, Talia.”
“We were planning on cleansing this place after we painted,” I started to say but Talia shook her head as she pulled out her cell phone.
“Nope. You don’t want to wait. Not with a hostile spirit situation. For one thing, these events can escalate quickly. For another, do you really want to try to paint the house with something waiting to mess up everything you do, if not outright harm you?”
“Good point.” I accepted the paper towels from Viktor as he returned. I headed into the master bath to try to clean up. As I ran the water, I stared in the mirror. I was absently thinking that the lilac color actually went well with my black hair, and that it was a good thing we hadn’t opened the can of green yet, when the mirror fogged up. My stomach lurched. I didn’t have the water running hot enough to steam up the glass.
The fog covered the mirror and I blinked, suddenly finding myself standing in a forest clearing. A circle about ten feet in diameter, the meadow was shrouded by a quickly growing mist.
How did I get here?
But my curiosity vanished, replacing by a growing sense of dread, as I felt something staring at me from the depths of the trees. Whatever it was, it was old and angry, and it was creeping around the perimeter of the clearing.
I looked around, trying to find my way back to the bathroom and the mirror, but all I could see were the trees. The sounds of the forest grew louder as night quickly approached. As stars began to appear overhead, I realized that I wasn’t sure what to do.
I approached the edge of the circle, only to see that it actually was a circle created out of stones. Outside the stones was a ring of brightly colored fly agaric, and outside of the mushroom ring, another ring of a finely ground powder glittered on the ground. I squinted, for the fading light made it hard to tell what it was.
I leane
d across the stones and mushrooms to touch the powder and as I did, it felt like I was sliding my hand into a vat of pea soup. As my fingers touched the fine grains, a shock resonated through my body and I shouted, pulling my hand back. The tips of my fingers were blistered, and I stared at the rising welts, a quick burn rushing through my body.
I let out a growl, startled and in pain.
The next moment, something came rushing through the trees, on a direct line toward me. I looked around, frantic to hide. I didn’t know what was coming, but whatever it was, my instincts told me I didn’t want to be around to meet it. But there was no cover in the meadow. As I started to step over the circle, a shock reverberated through my body equally as unpleasant as when I had touched the powder and I pulled back.
Whatever was on the way was big. So big that the trees were beginning to sway. I rubbed my head as a wave of dizziness washed over me. My face felt flushed and my head hurt. With a moan, I fell to my knees and leaned forward, trying to cushion my head. I couldn’t escape. All I could do was huddle on the ground, smelling the pungent soil through the verdant grass.
The creature was nearly on top of me now, the nearest trees were beginning to shake, and I tried to force myself to look but every instinct in me screamed Don’t and so I closed my eyes tightly, waiting for the end.
The ground rumbled and I drew in a deep breath, the smell of mold and decay filling my nostrils. Everywhere, the scent of death surrounded me, and I whispered a prayer to Morgana.
Lady, if it’s my time, please make it quick.
As if in answer, the world around me began to spin as I hunched low, waiting for the end.
Chapter 2
“EMBER!” HERNE CAUGHT me as I fell.
I blinked, crying out as his arms swept around me, keeping me from cracking my head against the bathroom sink. He eased me over so I was sitting on the closed toilet seat and knelt beside me.
“Where—how…what the fucking hell?” I shook my head, trying to clear my thoughts.
“When you didn’t come out, I got worried. I called but you didn’t answer. So I opened the door and there was a weird mist swirling around you. Are you all right? What happened?” He helped me up, then guided me back to the bedroom where the others were waiting.
“I don’t know,” I whispered. “I was…” I held out my fingers. They were still blistered, all right, and they had been perfectly fine when I first walked into the bathroom.
“What’s this? It looks like a burn. Is the water heater temperature set too high?”
I frantically scrambled for some clue of what had gone on.
“I don’t think so. I’m not sure, now.” I eased myself onto the floor. The others surrounded me.
Angel rubbed my shoulder. “Tell us what happened.”
I told them about the mirror fogging up and then finding myself in the forest clearing, about the triple-circle that had held me captive. I told them about the powder burns and the creature that had been heading my way.
“I thought I was dead. I have no clue what the thing was, but I knew that it was going to kill me and I didn’t want to stick around to see it come through those trees.” I felt like a coward saying it, but I had long ago learned that accuracy was more important than pride.
“Have you ever been in that forest before?” Herne asked.
I shrugged. “I have no idea. It looked like most of the forests around here. Old growth trees, tall fir and cedars dripping with moss. Thick undergrowth except for the ring I was in. But my fingers. Could I have really burned them on the water in the bathroom and not realized it?” I held them up, examining them. They hurt like a son of a bitch, and there was a rash that spread like a red bloom across them. It didn’t look like a hot water burn to me.
Talia examined them, squinting. “I don’t think the water was the culprit. Are you allergic to anything? That looks like an allergic rash, and there are a number of plants that can blister. Maybe some stinging nettle in the yard? Or could you be allergic to the paint? Do you think that’s a possibility?”
“I don’t think so. Not that I know of. If I was, the paint’s all over me thanks to that ghost, so I’d be blistering on my face and neck and arms if that was it.” I winced. My fingers hurt bone-deep, though the blisters had stopped swelling, at least. “I think they’re about as bad as they’re going to get.” Frustrated, I gathered my knees to my chest, wrapping my arms around them. “Damn it. I never get visions. Not like this. I’d like to know what brought it on.”
Angel had been silent. Now, she took one of my hands in hers and opened my curled fingers to stare at the welts. “I don’t know about the vision, but I’ve seen these welts on you once before. Don’t you remember?”
I frowned, staring at them. “No, I actually don’t.”
“We were in the park and a kid racing by on his bike knocked against you. You almost fell and you grabbed the nearest support you could reach, which just happened to be a cast iron bench.” She tilted her head. “These look like the blisters you got from that. Even the red rash looks the same.”
“I’ll be damned. You’re right.” I stared at my hand. The injuries did look like iron burns.
The Fae couldn’t handle iron, at least not in a couple of its forms. When it was blended with other metals, it wasn’t so bad. For instance, steel didn’t seem to be a problem. But for some reason, our bodies hated cast iron. Iron ore was also bad, and we didn’t feel too good when we handled iron pyrite—fool’s gold. In fact, if we were body slammed onto an iron bench or table and held down, the burns would kill us before too long. The allergy to iron was in our genetic makeup and we just had to cope with it.
“Iron. That powder that I saw in the triple ring! I’ll bet you that was powdered iron!” I lifted my fingers to my nose and took a deep whiff. Sure enough, there was the faintest hint of metal. I sniffed again, thinking maybe I had talked myself into smelling it, but sure enough, the scent was there.
“Iron. Yeah.” I frowned. “But that means I actually had to be there. I couldn’t have been, though, could I have been? There can’t be a portal in my bathroom.” The thought that my bathroom might have a portal that could transport me to another realm was terrifying. What if I wanted to take a shower and found myself naked, deep in the woods, with a monster chasing me?
Herne headed over to the bathroom. I held my breath, waiting.
“Breathe,” Angel said, touching my shoulder.
I slowly exhaled, smiling at her. “Thanks.”
A moment later, he reappeared. “There’s residue energy in there, that much I can tell you, though I can’t find anything to trigger a portal to open. So, what do you want to do? Regardless, we should call Kamaria.”
“I’ll try her again. I was about to call her when Ember screamed,” Talia said. She stepped to the side and pulled out her phone.
I glanced around the room. I had really wanted to get a good start on fixing up the house. Who knew how long it would take to get the medium out here?
“Let’s try to get some painting done tonight. But if you have to use the bathroom, maybe use the one next to Angel’s room?” I grinned. “Or take a buddy who doesn’t mind standing there while you pee.”
Viktor laughed. “I’m not sure I consider any of you good-enough friends for that, but what the hell. Let’s get this room painted, at least. Did you want the ceiling the same color as the rest of the room?”
I shook my head. “The wall with the window is going to be the forest green. I want the rest of the walls to be lilac, along with the ceiling. The bathroom will be lilac, too. We’ll need to get more paint, though, given that damned poltergeist wasted a can of it.”
“Okay, tape off the one wall and we’ll get started.” Viktor motioned to Yutani.
“Dude, my arm’s beginning to hurt,” Yutani said, bowing out of the process. He had broken his arm when we were on a case up on Whidbey Island, and the cast had just recently been removed. He wasn’t bac
k to his full range of motion yet, but he was working on it daily.
Talia rejoined us. “I’ll help. Kamaria said she can come over Thursday evening to check out the house. She’ll meet us here at seven.” She pocketed her phone and helped Viktor finish off the taping, then picked up one of the paint rollers. Herne insisted that Yutani and I take a break while the rest of them made quick work of the first coat of lilac in both the bedroom and bath.
Yutani was rubbing his arm.
“Does it still hurt?”
He shrugged. “Only when I overdo. Doctor wants me to ease back into physical activity.”
“Take off your shirt and turn around.”
Blinking, he obeyed. I sat on my knees behind him and began gently rubbing his shoulders, using the palms of my hands so I didn’t hurt my blistered fingers. I was surprised by how muscled the lanky shifter actually was. I used my elbows to dig into the knots.
“Tell me if I hurt you. I’ll try not to dig too deep. But man, you’ve got knots on top of the knots in your muscles.” I could feel the resistance as I kneaded his shoulders. There were pockets of adhesions that felt like they had been there for years. “Dude, you need to start getting regular massages. You’re a tangle.”
Herne glanced over at us, and I had the distinct impression he wasn’t all that thrilled that I was massaging Yutani’s shoulders, but I didn’t care. Yutani was in pain and I could help. I blew him a kiss and the veiled look vanished as he winked at me.
As they finished the first coat on the walls, I handed Yutani his shirt.
“Thanks, Ember. That felt really good.” He gingerly rotated his shoulder, then let out a relieved sigh. “That took care of the spasm that felt like it was waiting to attack.”
“As I said, find a good masseuse.” I stood up, looking around. The paint definitely changed the way the room felt, even though the accent wall wasn’t done yet, and it still needed a second coat. Without further ado, we trooped over to Angel’s room. By nine-thirty, both rooms had their first coats of paint.