Harbinger in the Mist (Arms of Serendipity) (32 page)

Eli laughed and leaned in, “They like that. They like being acknowledged.”

The group stood in the front yard holding bags of equipment. The women wore long, black cloaks with hoods. The man wore black pants and a black shirt with a white tabbed collar – he looked like a priest. A long, thin purple cloth hung over one arm.

Sara walked forward, embraced Eli, and whispered something in his ear. She looked at him with concern as he whispered something back. She shook her head sadly then walked to the front of the group gathered in front of the house.

“There are seven of us. A magical number on this magical night! Let us enter this house with pure thoughts and a pure purpose!”

The man in the tabbed collar approached Lindsey. He dipped his thumb in a little silver tin that looked like lip balm.

“May this holy chrism oil protect you, my child.” He muttered a quick prayer and placed his thumb on her forehead, marking her with an oily cross. It felt sticky, but smelled sweet.

Eli squeezed her hand and kissed her softly on the ear. “Let’s do this,” he whispered.

As the group began to climb the stairs, a dark mass stepped in front of the front door, blocking their way.

Twenty Four

The Cleansing and Blessing of Retreat House

The group gathered on the porch and faced the ghost of Milton Walker.

“It’s a full body apparition!” Sadie whispered excitedly.

“That’s the holy grail of ghost hunting!” Raven added, her digital camera clicking as she took photos in rapid succession.

“Focus, ladies,” Deacon Chris said sternly a he moved to the front of the group and draped the thin purple scarf around his neck. In a louder voice he said, “Saint Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle. Be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil. May God rebuke him, we humbly pray; and do Thou, O Prince of the Heavenly Host - by the Divine Power of God - cast into hell, Satan and all the evil spirits who roam throughout the world seeking the ruin of souls. Amen.”

Milton growled at them menacingly before catapulting straight up and out of sight.

“He doesn’t want us here. He thinks we’re trying to send him to the Shadowlands,” Raven said. Lindsey was sure that the play-by-play was just for her benefit.

They entered the house slowly. The women placed their bags on the credenza as Deacon Chris went around the house turning on lights, Sadie followed behind him opening cupboards and closet doors. Then they quickly assembled their items – four white candles, two large cigar-shaped smudging roll, a bag of sea salt, and a lighter. Sadie opened a second bag that was obviously Deacon Chris’. She removed a black, leather-bound book, a glass vial of holy water, and sterling silver crucifix.

Eli planted himself beside the deacon, “Litany of the Saints?”

“Yes, to begin with. I would have had to find a priest willing to help and then get permission from the Diocese to even think about an exorcism here. So, I’m afraid that standard prayers and holy water will have to do.”

“Never doubt the power of simple prayer, Deacon. And remember that they have their own techniques,” Eli pointed at the cloaked women. “Maybe the dual punch will be what is needed.”

“You are correct about prayer, my son. And their services certainly can’t hurt. Please hand me that crucifix.”

Lindsey watched as the two sides – Christian and Pagan – prepared to join forces and send the ghosts of Marla Rae Retreat House where they belonged, even if it meant a fight to do so.

The Deacon took the prayer book and flipped it open with the help of one of the frayed red ribbons hanging out the bottom. He held up the crucifix and instructed Eli to sprinkle holy water in every room they entered.

The women, on the other hand, lit the candles and the smudge sticks. Sadie handed one of the candles to Lindsey. Raven took the organza bag of sea salt and began to speak softly, incoherently as she waved her right hand in a circular motion over it.  When she was done, she hung it from her right wrist.

Milton Walker was not happy with the preparations being made in what he considered
his
foyer. He zoomed through the house, creating a strong breeze in his wake that caused the candles to flicker even though protective hands blocked their fiery wicks. He held his ghostly hands out, sending power from them which slammed every door in the house. As he disappeared into his Abigail’s room, he growled loudly.

Lindsey cringed against the wall, afraid.

“Lindsey, I will not let any harm befall you.” Eli took her face in his hands and kissed her softly then motioned to the group gathered around her. “As long as you are surrounded by us you are safe.”

Raven stepped into the middle of the loose circle. “Friends, we meet here during this waning moon to help our new friend, Lindsey. Her home is no longer her sanctuary. We long to remedy that. Let us join forces to help the spirits here to cross over to where they truly belong!”

As they entered Eli’s room, Sadie leaned down and explained what they were about to do. “Deacon Gary will pray a traditional Christian blessing while Raven, Sara, Marissa, and I recite a Wiccan banishing spell. Raven and Sara will smudge the rooms with sage sticks – they have cleansing powers – then Deacon Gary will anoint the cleansed room with a mixture of holy water and Chrism oil. We also carry four candles – one for each spirit in the house. When we enter a room where a spirit hides, we will encourage it to cross over, to use a candle as its portal. When a candle has been used by a spirit, its light will extinguish. At the end of the ritual, we will bury the candles on the property so that they will continue to protect the homestead.”

Raven and Sara led the procession, which moved in a clockwise motion around the room. The smudge sticks left thick, pungent smoke in their wake. The organza bag on Raven’s wrist swung back and forth, keeping time with the hum of the group’s mixed chants. Marissa and Sadie walked behind them, each carrying a fat, white candle. Deacon Gary was next, with his crucifix in one hand, prayer book in the other. Lindsey and Eli were at the back of the line. They, too, carried candles which gave off smell of rosemary and sandalwood as they burned. Eli also carried the holy water mixture.

Eli and Deacon Gary recited the “Litany of the Saints” as the women recited a Wiccan banishing spell. Lindsey walked silently beside Eli, candle in hand, and watched the spiritual dance unfold, listened as their chants intermingled, creating an electrical hum that seem to vibrate in the air. 

“Lord, have mercy on us. Christ, have mercy on us. Lord, have mercy on us. Christ, hear us. Christ, graciously hear us. God, the Father of heaven, have mercy on us. God the Son, Redeemer of the world, God the Holy Ghost, Holy Trinity, one God, have mercy on us.”

The two men recited their petitions in deep, baritone voices. The women added their own prayers, though several octaves higher. The mixture of the two had a very musical quality about it.

 “Air, Fire, Water, Earth, elements of astral birth, I call you now; attend to me. With our invocations rightly cast, keep us safe from curse or blast, I call you now, attend to me. From cave and desert, sea and hill, by wand, blade, and pentacle, I call you now, attend to me.  This is my will, so mote it be.”

“Holy Mary, pray for us. Holy Mother of God, Holy Virgin of virgins, Saint Michael, Saint Gabriel, Saint Raphael, All ye holy angels and archangels, All ye holy orders of blessed spirits…”

“Divine God, Divine Lady, if evil dwells within this place, Please make it leave this space. Guard well this household, guard well its door. We banish these unwelcome spirits, prevent them from crossing back once more.”

“Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, spare us, O Lord. Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, graciously hear us, O Lord. Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, have mercy on us.”

On and on the chanting went as Raven and Sara smoked every crevice of the room with their smoldering rolls and placed blessed sea salt on the windowsills and in the threshold of every door.  Deacon Gary followed, making the sign of the cross in the air with crucifix. Eli doused their smudged, salted, and blessed areas with his consecrated mixture.

From Eli’s room they went to the living room.  Marissa and Sadie moved from the group and placed their candles on the floor in what had been Olemargaret’s room before the renovations that knocked down several walls and opened the space up into one large living room and kitchen combined.  Sadie motioned to Eli, who walked over and added his candle to the floor. Lindsey started to follow, but Raven held her hand out and shook her head back and forth. 

When Eli and the two women had rejoined the group, the same ritual that had occurred in Eli’s room began again. They walked around the living room and kitchen, smoking, salting, and dousing every nook and cranny. But instead of moving into the dining room, they moved to the center of the room facing the candles that flickered slowly on the floor.

The chants changed as they watched the flames grow higher, brighter.

“Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death, Amen.”

“It is time to leave here; all is well. There is nothing here for you now. You must be gone. Go now, go – complete your passing. Go, and with our blessing farewell. The Summerlands await you, fare thee well.”

As the witches ended their incantation, three bright circles of light approached the candles tentatively and hovered beside them.  The witches repeated their chant.

“It is time to leave here; all is well. There is nothing here for you now. You must be gone. Go now, go – complete your passing. Go, and with our blessing farewell. The Summerlands await you, fare thee well!”

One by one, the orbs entered the flame of a candle. Each time an orb met a flame, a bright light shot strait up into the ceiling, glowed for a moment, and then went out. The used candle smoked for a moment before being engulfed by darkness. Then one by one, Eli, Sadie, and Marissa, retrieved their candles. Lindsey stood there, wide-eyed and shocked. But no one else seemed to be phased by what had just happened.  The procession simply moved into the dining room then the foyer, smoking, salting, and dousing over and over again, all the while the group recited their litanies.

As they started up the stairs, Milton began to protest. The lights flickered on and off, doors slammed repeatedly, and the house vibrated.

And for the first time in her life, Lindsey had a paranormal vision – she could see Milton’s quandary, hear his frantic thoughts.  He obviously didn’t care so much if they cleansed the bottom portion of the house or helped the slave and her boys cross over to the other side. But in his eyes, this was his house and he’d had enough. He had to watch his wife and child die here. He had been stuck here to remember and grieve after he had taken his own life. Then that old bat had him banished and he hovered between the two realms until that girl –
that girl
opened the portal and brought him back, back to this place where bad memories hung in every corner, where he could still hear Abigail crying and moaning, where he could still see her lying dead, entombing their unborn child.

Yes, he’d been jerked back here unwillingly, but he would not be dragged back to that dreaded place in the outskirts. This hell was better than the one to which they wanted him to return. He was damned tired of being pushed around and told where he would go. Why couldn’t he just wallow in his misery? Why wouldn’t people just leave him alone? Why did people keep moving into
his
house and then try to force him to bend to their will with all their magical pomp and circumstance?

 “Lindsey,” Raven pulled her from the psychic revelation. “We will do your room last. When we enter the room, I need you to take your candle and sit in on the floor in the middle of the room. I also want you to remove the sun catcher from the window and lay it beside the candle. Then you are to rejoin the group until we are finished. Got it?”

Lindsey shook her head in agreement.

A mist formed at the top of the stairs and hung low on the landing to hold Milton away from the group as they ascended the steps and approached his hiding place in the house, the place where all of the pain and misery originated nearly 160 years ago.

“The mist, do they know what it is?” Lindsey whispered to Eli. She wondered if their small group saw the low-hanging fog for what it was. Were they in the know?

“No. They know it’s paranormal, but they, like many so-called ghost hunters, chalk it up to an entity trying to manifest itself. And sometimes it is, but more often than not it’s an angel creating a barrier between them and something other worldly.”

“So they think its Milton’s ghost?”

“Aye.”

They stepped through the mist and entered Aimee’s home office to the right of the stairs. The chanting began again, as did their ritualistic routine – smudge stick, blessed sea salt, benediction, and holy water.