Grave Possession (Wraith 3) (23 page)

“Maybe we can ask my dad,” Tony offered. “He’s worked here for a while and lived in Savannah since he was a teenager.”

Connor nodded and said, “Good idea.”

“I’ll call him and meet you guys in your room a little later? I’m going to work on this a little more.” He gestured to the artwork on the bed.

“Just text me,” I said.

Tony had already started working on an incomplete painting before we closed the door. The obsessive nature of an artist wasn’t something I was unfamiliar with. It was something that Connor actually struggled with himself. He’d slipped out of his parent’s house more than once to go tagging in the middle of the night when an idea struck him. He’d been arrested twice.

Connor’s room was empty when we got upstairs. Tom off somewhere. “He’s either at the gym or the studio,” he said, sitting on the bed. He grabbed my hips and guided me so I sat on his lap. He looped my arms around his neck.

“The pieces are clicking into place,” I said, locking my fingers.

“Looks like it. When we get all the information, maybe we can stop whatever is going on.” He pushed my hair over my shoulder and ran a finger down the studs in my ear. “Did I ever tell you I like your hair like this?”

“No.”

“I like your hair like this.”

“Thanks.”

“Can I ask you something about Evan? From last night?”

“I don’t want to talk about Evan.”

A small line creased between his eyes and he said, “Give me a minute, okay?”

“Okay,” I said, toning down my defensiveness.

“You didn’t get your energy hit from him. How do you feel?”

“Shaky. Empty. Like there’s a dead spot in my chest.”

The bed creaked as Connor reached up and tugged down the zipper on my hoodie, revealing the scoop-neck shirt I wore underneath. He ran his fingers over the thin chain holding the raven pendent. “What are you doing?” I asked, although I had an idea.

“Trying to make it better. The less dangerous way.” His lips met the skin on my chest, leaving a trail of hot kisses. I twisted my fingers in his hair, tugging his face to mine. His kiss was hard and I opened my mouth to his, tasting his tongue. Warmth spread through my body, filling the emptiness with fire.

I sat back and said, “You really think this is less dangerous?”

That lazy grin appeared and he gripped my waist. “Definitely.”

Shifting on his lap, I strained to get closer. “It does feel good.” I gasped when his fingers pushed up my jacket and his skin touched my lower back. Heady intoxication coursed through my limbs. The feeling was dangerous, but Connor was right. It wasn’t deadly.

“I want you to feel good,” he said between kisses. “I want to be enough.”

I stopped him, pressing his face between my palms. “What does that mean?”

Mixed with the desire in Connor’s eyes, was a pain so intense it shot through my heart like a stake. In the most unwavering voice he declared, “I love you, Jane. So much. I’m scared for you. Us. I want you. I want to protect you. I want to be with you forever.”

“Connor…”

“Let me say this, because something’s coming and I don’t know if we’ll make it out the other side. Or how we’ll be if we make it out the other side. Please don’t work against me like you did with Charlotte. I think I’ve proven I’m not that person anymore. My head is clear. I’m ready for this battle.”

“I know,” I said, stroking the side of his face with the back of my hand. “I’m not going to work against you. I need you.” The pain simmered a little, replaced by a spark of hope. “You’re the best thing in my life. The only clear thing I have. Jeannie and Nina both see you in my aura and you’re the only thing that ever makes sense. That ties me to reality. I’m the one clouded in death and destruction. I just don’t want to hurt you again.”

“Don’t doubt me. Or us. That’s how the evil wins.”

Connor kissed me again, long and lingering. But my mind wandered even as my body responded. What he’d just said clicked in my brain. I jerked away and rubbed my lips.

“You okay?” he asked.

“Yes. No. Yes.” I stammered. “I think I know what’s feeding this thing and what it wants. I think I’ve figured one thing out.”

“What?”

I grasped his hand, but my phone chimed at the same time there was a loud pounding on the door. Connor eased me off his lap at the same time I checked the text from Tony.

We’re here.

Smoothing my hair and zipping my hoodie midway up my stomach, Connor opened the door, revealing Tony and his dad on the other side. My jaw dropped.

“Oh shit,” Connor said, glancing back at me.

Oh. Shit.

*

Tony and his father stood in the doorway, peering in at me and Connor. Well, not just Tony and his father, but Tony and Mr. Williams, the maintenance worker from my bathroom.

My haunted bathroom.

“You’re related?” I blurted after an inappropriate amount of silence.

“You’ve met?” Tony asked, walking into the room. Mr. Williams followed. I studied the two, going over their features, looking for similarities. It was pretty obvious. There was also a glint of something else familiar. Like a sense of déjà vu.

“At my dorm,” I said. “Briefly. I had no idea you two were related.”

“Nice to meet you again.” He offered his hand to Connor. “I missed the last gathering at Nina’s. I’d planned on speaking with you then.”

“Did you know the bathroom was haunted?” I asked.

Mr. Williams had on his work uniform, blue shirt and pants. Grease smears covered his sleeves. He looked tired, obviously having just finished a long day of work. I never would have made the connection to Tony. Sure, he was attractive and had the same brown skin. His dark hair was cropped instead of in dreads. I tried to get a feeling for being around another gifted person, or three, but nothing seemed different.

“I knew. Someone has to clean up that psychic mess.”

“Did you know about me?”

“I had a suspicion,” he said. “You kept showing up in there. No one else noticed those puddles but you. Then you were in here when the heater broke and turned this place into a sauna. That was supernatural also. I should have known there was a greater source. You wouldn’t believe how often machinery breaks down because of a mystical force.”

“That often?” Connor asked.

Tony cracked an uneasy smile. “Half of dad’s job is fixing the mess left behind by ghosts or difficult spirits.”

“True, but that’s not why I knew you were special.”

“No?” I frowned. “How then?”

His eyes shifted to the space under my neck and pointed. “Your necklace. You wear it all the time.”

My hand reached up to my neck and felt the cool metal of the charm. “This? What about it?”

He took a step forward and I shifted, pressing into Connor. “Where did you get it?”

“It was a gift.”

“Do you mind telling me who gave it to you?”

“Dad, what are you talking about?” Tony interrupted.

“I got it from my neighbor. She gave it to me before I left for school. I helped her last year with a family problem.”

“With a spirit?”

I nodded. “Yes. A family member.”

Mr. Williams face crumbled and fat tears welled in his eyes. Tony gripped his arm. “Dad?”

“Did she pass over?”

“Yes,” I whispered, searching his face. Once again, I saw familiar signs I’d overlooked. “Finally. After she saved my life.”

He took another step forward and pulled me into a tight embrace. So tight he almost squeezed the air out of me.

“Jane?” Connor asked, totally confused.

“Tonya,” I affirmed. “Mr. Williams’ sister. You’re Darius.”

Connor’s attention snapped toward me. “Wait… who?”

Darius released me and my fingers found and latched onto Connor for support. I took a deep breath and said, “Ms. Frances’ son.”

*

“I gave that charm to Tonya for her birthday,” Darius said. “The year she died.”

He sat in an overstuffed armchair in the dorm lounge. Connor and I shared a couch across from him. Tony… well, Tony decided not to join us. Turns out Tony never knew he had a grandmother in Atlanta. Or an aunt who died as a child. One he was named after.

“Should you go after him?” I asked, worried about his mental state. He’d been pretty upset to find out about his family that way.

“It’s always better to let Tony let off some steam when he’s angry. I’ll find him soon.”

“I hope he takes it okay. I can only think how hard this is on you and him. Your mother had a difficult time with it, but we became close. Ms. Frances gave me the necklace when I left for school. She lives next door to my parents.” I struggled to unhook the clasp. Connor’s fingers brushed against mine and he unclasped it for me. I gave it to Darius.

“So, that’s how you met,” he said, rubbing his thumb over the charm. “How is she?”

“Good, but lonely. She worries about you. Honestly, I think she assumed you were dead.”

“She probably wishes I was dead.”

“Why would you say that?” Connor asked.

“Tonya died because of me. I sent her off to the store that day because I was too busy messing around with Peter. That guy – that sick guy in the neighborhood – killed her, but I’m the one who let her go.” Wet lines tracked down his face from his tears. He wiped them off with the back of his hand.

Connor’s hand squeezed mine. Darius had no idea what really happened to Tonya. That his best friend, Peter, was the one who really killed her and went on to hurt other girls.

“Darius, there’s a lot you don’t know. A lot. And we’re going to have to fill you in on what really happened with Tonya and your family. Why I had to help them and why Tonya saved me. But we’ve also got to focus on why Tony asked you to meet us in the first place.”

“He said you wanted to know about the building’s history?”

“Yes, borrowing a phrase from Nina, we think this dorm may be a hot zone for paranormal activity,” Connor said. He then went on to explain the connections we’d made earlier about many of the paranormal situations tying back to the building. “We’ve noticed most buildings in Savannah are historic and preserved. But the original hotel was one of the first buildings in the city. Was there something here before that?”

“The area was commercial from the start, as far as I know. I think this was always a hotel. But the area was seedier. Not like it is now that the art school moved down this way.” Darius became quiet with concentration. “If I recall correctly, I think there was a fire that wiped out several blocks.”

“I’ll be back,” Connor said, hopping off the couch. He disappeared and came back a few moments later carrying his laptop. He already had it opened and typed one-handed while he walked. “Okay, those were the key words we needed. I found it.” He sat next to me and read aloud, “In 1967, a fire ripped through the streets of the southeast corner of Savannah, destroying five businesses, and damaging a dozen others,” he read. “Police confirmed the fire was started by a 13-year-old boy. He was killed during the blaze.”

“Maybe the idea of a hot zone is more literal than we thought,” I said.

“Does it have his name?” Darius asked.

“The kid’s name was Garrett. I don’t know if that’s the first name or last. We haven’t seen him though.”

I slid the laptop over so I could see it. “There’s more. ‘Crime is prevalent on Boundary Street but this is not the first time the police made a visit to the arsonist’s home. Six months earlier, his 4-year-old sister was shot in the basement. Her death was ruled an accident’.”

Connor and I locked eyes. He nodded and said, “Hazel. We have seen her. A lot.”

“That’s a lot of bad mojo running through the place,” Darius said. “No wonder the kid’s still hanging around.”

“She’s been here and at my dorm. I’m not sure how much of it is her or a combination of her and all the other spirits around me.” I confessed to Darius how I’d inadvertently opened the door to our world to the dead and let traces of evil follow me back. “Garrett is exactly the kind of spirit that ends up causing problems. Accidental, tragic death. Family problems. He’s probably been looking for a way back for a long time.”

“And you walked right into it,” Connor said.

“I think I have something that can help you,” Darius said. “A cleansing.”

“You can get rid of these spirits?” I asked hopefully.

“I can cleanse your aura and remove the parasites.”

“Is that your gift?” He nodded. “Then let’s do it. When?”

“Let me check on Tony and talk to him a little more. We can get together tomorrow in the basement. We’ll try to flush this thing out of your body and out of the building for good.

“Just tell us when to be there,” Connor said, sounding hopeful.

“Do you think Tony will be all right?” I asked.

Darius leaned back in his chair and shook his head. “I should have told him about all of this sooner, but I’ve spent years struggling with Tonya’s death. It never seemed like the right time. I was ready to just let that part of my life go – permanently. Then we got so focused on Tony getting into art school. It was a long shot and, at first, he was wait-listed. He didn’t get his acceptance until late summer. Once he got in, we had to scramble for the money.”