Laure Donavan 2 - Ghouls Night Out (27 page)

My name carried across the night air.
The group was calling for me. Maybe they thought I had run off.
Surely, they knew I wouldn't do something like that. I was
committed to helping Mindy. We moved through the woods. When we
reached the clearing, he dragged me up the embankment and over to
the road. We were headed toward a dark sedan with dark windows. The
trunk was open, which didn’t bode well for me.

When we reached the car, the man
dumped me into the backseat. Thankfully, he hadn’t put me in the
trunk. Oh, my God. I was being kidnapped. My hands or face weren’t
covered, but as I tried to open the door, I realized it had the
child safety locks on—good for kids, bad for kidnap
victims.

The man jumped in the front seat. As
he turned the ignition, I reached my hand over my head, and with
all my might, whacked the guy on the head. I had been right—my
abductor was a man. He had dark hair and wore black pants and
shirt. I only saw the back of him. What a sleazeball.

“
What the hell,” he cried
out. “Don't hit me.” The man pulled away from the side of the road;
gravel and dirt flew out from behind the car.

Chapter Thirty-Nine

I continued whacking him over the head
with my fist. Sure, he'd kill me later, but at least I could say I
tried. Maybe I'd even leave some bruises. We drove down the path,
swerving from side to side. I looked over my shoulder out the rear
window and saw flashlights moving in our direction. They were too
late. But maybe someone would notice the car speeding away and
realize that my car was still parked in the same spot.

Maybe they'd realize I hadn't left of
my own free will.

“
Who are you and what are
you going to do to me?” I hit again.

“
Stop it. Don’t hit me.” He
reached for my arm, but stopped when the car swerved again. Either
I’d cause him bodily harm, or we’d crash.

“
I'm your father! Now stop
punching me.”

I let out a gasp. “What!” I stared
into the rearview mirror, searching his eyes for some kind of
memory of how my father had looked the last time I saw a picture of
him. Eyes that looked just like mine glanced back at me. We had the
same wide eyes.

“
What?” I repeated.
Disbelief washed over me.

“
I'm your
father.”

“
How do I know you’re my
father and not some deranged killer?”

“
Well, I was there when you
were born at St. Joseph's Hospital. Your mother's name is Sylvia.
And I'm Phil.”

“
Anyone could find out
those details. I’m going to need more proof than that. Why did you
kidnap me? Couldn't you have just come to my house and introduced
yourself?”

“
I came by, but I didn’t
have the nerve to say anything. I didn’t want you to turn me
away.”

“
Yes, well, this was a much
better option. Were you the one spying in the window instead of
knocking on the door like a normal person?”

“
I didn't know what to say.
I was afraid you wouldn't talk to me.”

“
Well, you were probably
right about that. So you decided to kidnap me instead?”

“
I didn't kidnap you. I
saved you from those people. I don't know what the hell that was
all about, but it looked like pure evil to me.”

Words failed me. My father, who I
hadn't seen in forever, had suddenly reappeared and was trying to
save me from what he thought were Satanists.

“
What did you think they
were going to do? Sacrifice me?”

We zoomed down the road. His speeding
away was his best attempt to save his daughter, I supposed. “All of
a sudden you care about me? You took off and now you are coming to
save your daughter? Does that make up for not being there for me
for all these years? I needed a father and you weren't there,” I
yelled. Rarely did I get this angry, but I was livid. “Now turn
around and take me back.”

“
I didn't mean to ruin
anything for you. I know I haven't been there for you. I just want
to talk to you. That's why I came to your house. But, like I said,
I didn't have the nerve to knock on your door. I was going to talk
to you tonight, though. I was planning on it when I got to your
house. You were leaving, so I followed you. Then when I saw all
those people in the circle with the candles and the chanting, I
didn't know what to think.”

“
They're witches, Phil. Not
some crazy cult wanting me to drink their Kool-Aid.”

“
Are you a
witch?”

“
No. I am not. Well, I
don’t know what I am.”

“
Why are you here with
them?”

“
It's complicated, all
right. I was helping them, or they were helping me, I'm not sure
which. But I really need to go back.”

He slowed the car, then made a sharp
turn. “I apologize,” he said softly. “I hope you
accept.”

I needed answers from this man. Was he
really my father? I let out a deep breath and ran my hand through
my hair, pulling a few leaves out. “Yeah, I accept,” I said,
begrudgingly.

I didn’t accept, but I’d say anything
to get out of this situation.

“
Can we talk later? I have
a lot going on right now, as you can see. I really don't need the
added stress. Although, I’m not sure what there is to talk about.
I'm an adult now. You're off the hook officially. Not that it
mattered to you when you were on the hook anyway.”

He didn't respond to my statement.
Instead, he said, “I promise I won't take up much of your time and
I’ll try my best not to make your life any more complicated than it
already is.”

We neared the spot where everyone
stood by my car. Some people were in the woods with their
flashlights looking for me.

“
Can I come by sometime?”
he asked.

“
Sure, but bring a picture
ID. Come by tomorrow evening, if you want. We’ll talk.”

He looked like my father and, deep
down, I knew it was him, but I wouldn’t let the jerk off the hook
that easily.

“
Thank you, Larue. You look
good. Just like your mother.”

Ugh. Not compliments. Flattery would
get him nowhere.

“
Thanks, you look good too,
I guess,” I muttered.

“
Although, I think you have
my eyes,” he added.

“
Yeah, I noticed when I was
punching you. Did I hurt you, by the way?”

“
No. I've had much
worse.”

“
I bet you have.” I
smirked.

“
Anyway, I'm sorry again.”
He glanced back in the rearview mirror.

“
Let's just drop it. I'll
see you later.” Coven members gathered around the car as we pulled
up.

The group crowded around the car as I
opened the door. How embarrassing was that. I didn't know how I
would explain what had just happened. A crazed mad man attacked me
and pulled me out of the woods. My father was lucky he hadn't been
attacked by those women. They could stick up for themselves if they
had to, or so I’d heard. I climbed out of the car, but I really
wanted to crawl under it.

“
I'm all right. I'm all
right,” I said, as I closed the door.

“
Are you sure? For goodness
sake, what happened?” Dixie asked. “I turned around to see where
you were and you were just gone.” She gestured with her hands. “We
thought maybe you had changed your mind until we came out and saw
your car still here.”

“
Oh, well.” I paused,
trying to choose my words carefully. But there was no easy way to
explain it. “That was my father.”

They looked at me, then at the car’s
taillights that grew distant.

“
Um, he thought you were
Satanists and were going to harm me.”

A few chuckles rang out from the
group. I was still embarrassed, but glad they could laugh at the
situation, too.

“
I didn't know your father
was around,” Dixie said.

“
I didn't, either,” I
mumbled. “Can we go back to the spell now?”

I pulled my hair back, brushing out
more leaves. I knew by the stunned expressions that I looked a
wreck. I still couldn't get over the fact that my father was back.
And what a way to see him again. At least I knew who had been
spying on me. Was he the one who had broken into my store and my
house? Could he have taken the money from me? I didn't want to
believe it, but anything was possible. After all, he had left me at
a very young age. I didn't know him, and I didn't know if he could
be trusted. He could be on drugs, for all I knew. But that didn’t
explain the dark shadow figure that I’d seen. It was definitely not
of this earth.

We trailed back toward the circle,
moving along the dirt path through the trees until we reached the
opening. It was late and I was cold, but I still wanted to do this
for Mindy. She needed my help, and I hoped she’d do the same for me
if ever in the same situation. The least I could do was endure a
little cold weather, for heaven’s sake.

After the hike, everyone took his or
her position in the circle. This time, I joined them. Hanging
around in back had gotten me in trouble and I didn’t want a repeat.
I glanced over my shoulder. The gang stood behind me. I’d lost
sight of them in my attack. A lot of good they had been but, then
again, they were ghosts, not capable of doing a lot to ward off an
attacker. I held hands with my circle neighbors and joined in the
chanting.

The wind picked up, whirling around
our feet. We traveled down the path with the tall trees hovering
above us, whispering in the stir of the wind. The branches of the
oaks and pines were draping over us as if they were scrutinizing
our every move from high above. In the distance, animals howled,
just like last time. A mist of rain began to cover us.

“
We must hurry,” Dixie said
into my ear. “You'll light the candles, one by one. Start with this
one, and light the others from it. Place them in the dishes around
the points in the circle. Then with the salt, draw a line in the
ground. Place this powder all around the circle, as well. Then
sprinkle the flower petals around. Once you're done with that, come
back to the center of the circle and recite this chant.” She handed
me a piece of paper.

The wind picked up and I tightened my
grip on the paper. Keeping my grip firm, I opened the paper and
studied the words for a few seconds. I lifted the first candle,
then the second, placing the first in the holder. I moved to the
next candleholder, trying to remain steady in the wind, and placed
the second candle on the ground, carefully lighting the other. I’d
never understand how the wind didn’t blow out the
candles.

The heavy downpour was holding off,
but any second the heavens would unleash the rainstorm on us. I
tried to hurry, but the faster I moved, the more my hands shook.
Anxiety consumed me. In spite of having done this before, I still
didn't know what to expect this time. Would it work? I prayed it
would. I moved on to the third and fourth candles, then took the
salt in my hand, drawing a careful circle on the ground. Everyone
watched my movements. No pressure, no pressure at all.

Dixie nodded for me to continue, so I
placed the other powder around the circle. I wasn't sure what was
in this mixture, but it had the smell of sage. I then sprinkled the
flowers around. The wind whirled and howled louder. All eyes
remained on me. I glanced over the crowd and noticed my ghost
friends watching. Mae looked interested, but worried expressions
covered Anthony and Seth’s faces. It was so sweet of them to fret
about me. I couldn't tell them not to.

When I finished, I handed the bag back
to Dixie, then took my place in the center of the circle. I took a
deep breath and unfolded the paper. One last time, I read over the
words. Then in the loudest voice I could gather over the howl of
the wind, I recited the words. The group chanted with me, speaking
the words with me to aid in the spell.

Within a few seconds of finishing, the
wind stopped…just like that, it was gone. The rain fell in buckets.
My hair stuck to my body and I shivered under my wet coat. I ran
for the car, following everyone else out and trying not to
fall.

“
I'll call you, Larue,”
Dixie said.

I waved. “I'll talk to you in the
morning.”

“
Please be careful,
Larue.”

“
I will, I promise.” I
hopped in my car and took off down the road, following the other
cars as we made our way down the dirt path, with only the
headlights to lead our way.

“
That was something else. I
didn't know you were so good with the witchcraft. Karyn’s right,
you have a natural knack for it,” Anthony said.

“
How in the world would you
know? As far as I can tell, I’ve done nothing special. But I'll do
whatever I have to do to save my friend. She would do the same for
me.”

“
Are you sure?” Mae
asked.

“
Yes, actually, I am sure.
She helped me last time with Callahan. But even if she wouldn’t, I
have to save her and stop Cooper before he has a chance to get to
Callahan, too. No telling what else he will do. I can't let him
stay here and destroy Magnolia.”