“How do we open this?” Alex prodded at the door.
“Look for an indentation. It will be faint, but there should be a hidden lever inside that releases the door.” Chai took one side, Alex the other. Sure enough, a moment later Alex let out an “Aha!” and the door sprang open, revealing a tunnel dug into the dirt below the side yard. As far below ground as we were in the basement, nobody crossing the yard would ever guess there was a tunnel beneath it.
“Bingo.” Alex frowned, staring at it. “Crap. I was hoping it would be simple, like a hole in the wall so we could just crawl in there, take care of him, and crawl out. I hate tunnels.”
Given the fact that whoever went first was going to take the brunt of the attack, I agreed.
The problem with sending Chai first would be that any fire might blow back into the basement and cause even more damage to Patrick’s house. If we set off any sort of explosion, the yard could cave in or, given our proximity in town, we could damage a gas main or water main.
“We can’t use fire. We can’t use anything that might damage the infrastructure around the house or the foundations.” I worried my lip, staring at the tunnel, feeling like I should volunteer. But Alex jumped in ahead of me.
“I’ll go first. Shimmer, you have my back. Chai, you next. Ralph, stay out here with Tonya. Patrick—you bring up the rear and carry the flashlight, would you?”
A thought hit me and I turned to Tonya. “Give me the pendant. I can play the same game you did with the other wight.”
She lifted it from around her neck and handed it to me. “Here you go. Wear it in health and don’t let him get hold of it.”
As I slid the necklace over my head, I could feel the thrum from inside, but it was muffled, and the wight couldn’t reach out to me. Satisfied that it wasn’t going to turn me into a raving maniac, I withdrew my dagger. I was getting more comfortable having it in my hand than out of it.
Alex stepped up into the tunnel and began to creep through it. We all had to hunch over, though Alex didn’t bother; he crouch-walked his way through. The tunnel was dank, like sour dirt, and circular. This passage was longer than the one the wight had created at the battery, but it still didn’t extend that far. I figured we were well within the confines of Patrick’s yard when, once again, the tunnel opened into a larger chamber. But here we found the remains of hundreds of rats and other small creatures.
Something about this wight was different.
I stared at the decaying and skeletal carcasses, trying to decipher why they were there. Wights fed on energy and fear and . . . a low growl startled me. Alex swung around, pushing me out of the way, and I went sprawling as something with four legs landed right where I’d been standing. I rolled to a crouching position as Alex moved in on it, Juanita gleaming in his hand. Patrick was holding the light steady on the creature, and Chai was aiming for it.
“Wolfen,” Alex said, as he moved in. “Be careful, they aren’t like regular Weres. They can infect you with a bite and can turn you.”
I’d heard tales of the wolfen—werewolves born with severe defects. They were a vicious lot by nature, always taking the form of a misshapen wolf, and they were born with an ability other Weres didn’t have—they could turn their victims. Not into Weres, but into wolfen like themselves.
“Stand back, Shimmer.” Alex motioned me away and I stepped back. I was the only one the wolfen could infect. Vampires were immune to any contagion, and djinns . . . well, I’d hate to see the creature try to bite Chai and live. As Chai and Alex circled the monster—it was over five feet high at the shoulders—I backed up against the opposite wall.
At that moment, a hand landed on my shoulder, reaching for my throat. The forest wight! The damned things seemed to have an obsession with my neck.
I swung around before he could get his fingers on the pendant and stabbed his hand with my dagger. I managed to impale him with the tip, right between the knuckles, and he let out a roar.
Chai left Alex to deal with the wolfen as he raced to my side. By now, the wight had moved out of the shadows as he attempted to grapple me. I kicked him in what would be his nuts, but it didn’t seem to faze him. Maybe wights didn’t have balls. Or a penis, I thought as he moved out of the shadows.
Idiot, quit looking for his junk and fight. My thoughts were a mad scramble as I yanked my dagger from his hand and tried to hit him again. I missed, and he managed to wrap his fingers around my wrist. He was dragging me toward him as Chai landed by my side, and the djinn backhanded him a good one. Unfortunately, the wight had a firm grasp on my wrist and I went flying with him. We landed in a tangle on the floor. Startled, the wight let go of me as we hit the ground, and I rolled out of his reach as Chai came barreling across the room at him again.
Alex was grappling the wolfen by then, and they were on the floor as Patrick still held the flashlight, a look of confusion on his face. I could tell that—vampire or not—he wasn’t used to fights or rumbles or any sort of violent behavior. I scrambled up and raced over to him, grabbing the flashlight.
“Go help Alex—bite the damned thing and start sucking his blood or something.” I shoved him toward the pair as they rolled along the floor. Patrick gave me one slightly frightened look and then dove into the fray. He landed atop the wolfen and dragged it back from Alex, who managed to right himself into a squatting position. Patrick was trying to keep hold of the creature as Alex dove for the monster’s throat and latched on. A horrible sucking sound filled the chamber, and the wolfen whimpered and let out a low howl as Patrick fastened his fangs into the back of his neck. Together, he and Alex were draining the wolfen, and it didn’t look or sound like they were making it pleasant.
I cringed as the three of them writhed on the floor, the wolfen sandwiched between the two vampires. There was a bestial, feral nature to the triad, almost sensual. Part of me wanted to watch—fascinated the way I might be when a spider was sucking her prey—but then my stomach lurched and I turned away. I was a predator—a dragon. But when we snatched up our food, we usually did so cleanly, with a quick kill. Vampires took delight in the sensation. Dragons were in it for the food.
Shuddering, I hurried over to Chai, who was in a full-scale tumble and roll with the wight. I dropped the flashlight so it was pointing toward the pair and dove in again, this time managing to grab hold of the wight’s back as he scrabbled against Chai. I didn’t have fangs, or big meaty hands, but I had my strength and I had a very pointy dagger that glinted with silver.
I struggled, managing to get my arm around the throat of the wight, who was now kicking and gurgling, and brought the dagger down into his back. He tried to roar and I tightened my lock around his neck. Pushing the blade in deeper, I buried the dagger up to the hilt in the wight’s shoulder, and at that point Chai grabbed hold of the wight’s head and, motioning for me to let go, snapped the creature’s neck. With an audible pop, the wight went limp and the fire in his eyes died out. Chai let go and the wight fell to the floor, dead.
I pulled out my dagger and stood back, panting, as the creature’s form began to fall into dissolution. The wight was dead—they were all three dead and gone. I thought I heard a sigh from the locket, but it had to be my imagination.
Just then, the wolfen gave one low muffled cry and as I turned, it, too, slumped into Alex’s arms. He gently laid it down on the floor and then he and Patrick stood. Blood trickled down the sides of their mouths, and Alex pulled out a handkerchief from his pocket and wiped the droplets of red from his chin.
We stared at the bodies, and then Chai wordlessly went over to dig through the debris pile that mirrored the one in the marsh and held up a chest. More treasure. Or maybe, more trouble. It would be hard to know until we’d opened both of them. The body of the wight had already begun to decay, and the body of the wolfen was cooling rapidly. Dragging it behind us—the last thing Patrick wanted was a decaying corpse left behind—we headed back through the tunnel and into the basement.
Tonya and Ralph stared
at the wolfen’s corpse as we jumped out of the hole, pulling the body out behind us.
“A wolfen . . . I never saw one before.” Ralph’s voice was hushed as he stared at the body. “They’re dangerous, and no Were community—especially werewolves—allows them to stay. Anybody born a wolfen is driven out shortly after birth. In fact, though it’s not well known, we’re usually instructed to put the newborns out for the animals to devour. Most parents who end up having one just hide them in the woods, though, and hope for the best.”
The concept made me sad. “You don’t stop loving something just because it’s different.” But then again, given their volatile nature, I could understand the need to isolate them from the general society.
“Right. I just hope there aren’t any more near here, and I wonder how the hell the wight came by one anyway.” Patrick cleared his throat as he looked around the chamber.
Alex shrugged. “A lot of strange beasts live in the forests out here.”
“So what now?” Patrick glanced around. “Other than I start interviewing new contractors?”
“Well, the wights are dead so that problem is off our plates. I guess . . . we clear the curse next, using Toby’s gift, then release your ghosts—Tonya, you’ll have to be in charge of that. And then . . . I think we’re done.” I turned to Tonya. “That sound about right?”
She nodded. “I’d add that, after we clear out the ghosts, Patrick, let me cleanse and ward the entire lot and house. And fill in that tunnel before anything else finds it and decides to make good use of it. Right?”
Alex concurred. “She’s right. You do not want something new setting up shop down here. And when you get your new contractor, dude—you need to have him create an out on the basement doors here. If Shimmer and Ralph hadn’t managed to bludgeon their way through, we would have been toast.”
“Good idea in theory, bad in practice. Yeah, that’s on my list. Okay, so did we bring the egg thing that Toby gave us?”
Tonya nodded. “It’s out in the car. Ralph, would you come with me while I get it? You guys had better let me handle this one. Magic is my department.”
As they headed out to the car, the rest of us dropped into the sofas. They might be covered with soot, but they were still usable and they were comfortable. I didn’t even want to think about the layer of silt covering the butt of my jeans. Soot could be washed off, and if not—they were only so much denim.
Tonya brought back the colorful egg, holding it gently. “Toby said all we have to do is put it here in the basement and then have Patrick break it—that should dispel the curse.” She set it down on the coffee table and stood back. “I think you should use your fists to break it—skin contact might make a difference.”
Patrick hesitantly moved toward the papier-mâché egg, staring at the brightly painted oval. It looked almost like stained glass, the colors were so bright, but when you looked closer, it was easy to see the imperfections that didn’t mar glass. He glanced over at Tonya. “Should I say anything?”
“Toby didn’t say you should, but I guess if you want to, you can say something like ‘end this curse’ or some such other statement.” She frowned. “I don’t think it’s going to hurt anything if you do say something.”
Patrick nodded. With his fingers interlocked, he formed a double fist and held it over the egg. “I ask Anna Lee to remove the curse she placed on this house and to free it—and me—from the . . . curse.”
His words drifting off, he brought his fists down hard, smashing through the egg. A cloud of powder that it had been holding spread into the air, as if the egg were a bag of flour that had suddenly broken. A shimmer and a sudden swish of energy darted through the room, as visible as ball lightning. It built up static as it bounced from wall to wall, growing larger as we watched.
Unnerved, Ralph began to back away from it, but Tonya clapped him on the shoulder and he stopped. The ball of energy grew brighter and brighter and then—with a loud clap like thunder—it burst, filling the room with a pale warm light that rolled up the staircase. The timbers of the house let out a muffled “Ah” as if releasing a breath held for a long, long time. The entire house felt like it relaxed around us. A moment later the light dissipated, but the feeling of ease remained.
Patrick glanced around, staring at the walls as if he were expecting something else to happen. Another moment and he looked over at Tonya. “Is that it? Is everything okay?”
“Well, we still have to release the ghosts . . . but now I think they’ll go easy. Come on, let’s head upstairs for that.” She led the way and we followed, with Alex carrying the wolfen’s corpse. “What are we going to do with the body?”
I shrugged. “There’s a hole out front where Lacy was buried, still.”
Patrick quickly nixed that idea. “Oh no, I don’t want anything to do with this thing. I want it off my property.”
“We can deal with it later. Let’s take care of your ghosts now. I’d like to see these poor souls freed.” Tonya had also retrieved her bag and now, in the burned-out shell of the living room, she motioned to the remains of one of the end tables that hadn’t fully been incinerated by the flames. “Can one of you lift that over here for me?”
Alex was still holding the wolfen’s corpse, so Patrick quickly retrieved it for her. As soon as he set it down, she pulled out her sage smudge stick, a fan, a wand, a bell, and something that looked like incense powder. She handed me the bell, and she handed Chai the smudge stick and fan. She started to hand him the lighter, but he laughed and waved it away.
“I don’t need a lighter, thank you. I’m pretty good with creating fire on my own.” He held up one finger and a flame appeared on the tip.
“Right. I keep forgetting. Ralph, would you carry the powder for me? Have it ready to throw when I tell you and then just toss pinches of it into the air.” She showed him how much she meant. He nodded.
“Okay, then, let’s head outside first. I think the soldiers and the ghosts of that family are stuck in parts of the yard. Shimmer, if you’d keep ringing the bell as we go, and Chai—light the smudge stick, please, and keep it lit, waving it around as we walk through the yard.”
She led the way, with Patrick opening the door. We followed her as she sought for the ghosts. I watched her as we went. Tonya had been blessed at birth with power, and while she was human through-and-through, the fact was, she’d been born gifted.
The night was blustery but the rain had backed off, and we trundled through the wind, following Tonya as she felt her way through the yard. A moment later, she turned in the direction of a massive cedar that stood to one side, next to the fence dividing Patrick’s lot from the neighbor’s house.
As we drew close, I suddenly saw a glimmer—there were five men standing there. They were translucent and pale, shimmers against the night. They didn’t notice us, but instead, they reminded me of mimes. Over and over, they appeared to be loading an invisible cannon and then setting it off. The next moment, their faces took on a look of horror and they dropped to the ground, mouthing silent screams. The next moment, the scenario began to replay.
“They’re caught in time,” Tonya said. “They’re caught in an eternal loop.” She motioned to me. “Ring the bell all around them. Let’s see if they notice—it’s been blessed by my coven mother.”
I carried the bell up and began to vigorously shake it around the spirits. All of a sudden, they stopped and looked up. Tonya motioned to Chai. He carried the smudge stick up and began fanning the smoke toward them.
“Spirits of the night, spirits of the past, spirits trapped in time, I call you to depart this place and leave to your destinies. Lay down your chores, lay down your concerns, you are free to go. You are free from your duties, and your journey forward awaits. Spirits from the past, you have done your jobs well. Now depart and be here no more.” Tonya was drawing some sort of symbol in the air. A moment later a golden light began to envelop the soldiers and then, in one bright flash, they vanished. The wind rustled by with
a soft whisper of relief.
“They’re at peace now.” Tonya turned to us. “Now, for the mother and child . . . they’re over there—can you see them near the shed?”
We looked and sure enough, now that they weren’t overshadowed by the wight’s energy, we could see them standing there. A woman in a long dress that looked right out of a period drama, and a little girl with a sunbonnet tied beneath her chin. The woman was calling out something—we couldn’t hear her, but she looked frantic and was obviously searching for something. The little girl was screaming and chasing after her mother, who couldn’t seem to see her.
“Aren’t they together?” I was trying to figure out how this worked. Dragon spirits were never trapped in the physical dimension. Once we died we went to stay with our ancestors. I’d never heard of a dragon ghost in my entire life.
“No, they’re trapped in two separate realities—two different, yet overlapping, dimensions.” Tonya frowned. “How to do this? I need to get them together so they can stop searching for each other.” She thought for a moment, frowning.
Chai moved forward. “Let me help on this. I think . . . don’t ask me or even say thank you.” He handed the smudge stick—still smoking—to Patrick, along with the fan. After a moment’s consideration, the djinn reached out and etched a glowing symbol in the air that looked for all the world like a door handle. He grabbed hold of the handle and pulled, and the sound of something shifting crackled through the air as realities collided. The little girl’s face lit up and she stared at her mother, who was looking down at her, both alarmed and relieved.
“Tell the girl to run—now, I can’t hold it open long.”
Tonya held out her wand toward the little girl’s spirit, aiming it directly at her. “Run to your mother, now. Run fast and quick, child.”
The girl looked startled, then began to race forward. As if tripping over something, she fell, landing at her mother’s feet. Her mother looked down and, with a shocked and delighted look, gathered the girl in her arms and backed away from the opening. Chai let go of the handle and the sigil vanished.