Sorrow's Point (29 page)

The footsteps pounded up the stairs. I could hear them. I closed my eyes for a moment, and then looked down at Lucy. She was still breathing, but the other Lucy, the perfect one, was standing over in the corner dancing around. Every so often she would wave at me.

“Mr. Holiday?”

I looked at the doorway.

“I’m Sheriff Bedecki.”

“Where are the emergency people? She’s bleeding too much.”

Bedecki nodded. “I had to make sure nothing crazy was going on.” He picked up his walkie-talkie and spoke into it. “Bring ‘em on up. Scene’s safe.”

As soon as the E.M.T.’s got there, I left Lucy to them. Now, she had a better chance to survive – even if her soul was apparently separated from her body.

They put her on a stretcher after they stabilized her as best as they could and took her out of the room.

I felt a tingle on my right wrist. I looked down. There was an odd tattoo of a cross in a circle with seven words in an language I could not read around it.

I guess I got my “mark.”

After the E.M. T.”s were gone with Lucy, the sheriff walked over to me. He stared me in the eyes—hard. “You do that to her?”

“No sir,” I said. “The demon did.”

“Uh huh. How did the ‘demon’ do it?”

I coughed. “It would be easier if you watched the tape.”

He nodded. “Okay. Video’s good. Where is it?”

“In the device just outside the door.”

###

I led the sheriff outside the room and to the recording device. Lucy’s spirit hovered around, watching everything. I really didn’t want her to see the scene of her death again, but I had no way of telling her that. It wouldn’t be good to have the sheriff see me talking to thin air.

“Where’s the video?” he asked.

I pointed to the recording unit. “The DVD is in there. We never stopped it from recording and it has a time stamp.”

The sheriff nodded. “I want to see the tape.”

He put on rubber gloves.

“How do I get his thing out of here?” he asked me.

“Press the stop button. It’s the one with the square on it. Then hit the eject button. It’s the one with a triangle with a line underneath it.”

He pressed the buttons. When the disc didn’t pop out immediately, he looked at me.

“It’s doing a little process to save the program so it can be played on any DVD player. It will pop out in a minute.”

Finally, the disc popped out. He took it and ushered me back downstairs.

###

After Tor was off to the hospital with Lucy’s body, the sheriff took the rest of us down to the station for questioning. It was a small station, just a nondescript grey block building. The sign was in good condition and the building had recently been repainted.

It was the first time I’d been questioned by the police like this, and it felt weird to be in this position. They ushered me into an empty room with a table and a few chairs.

The room was a small grey room with a long table and a few cheap chairs. There was a camera in the corner of the ceiling not unlike the one we used with Lucy.

I sat, waiting, for around two hours before the sheriff came in.

Lucy’s spirit kept wandering around the room, exploring things. Luckily, she didn’t try to make me laugh or anything.

When the sheriff came in, the first thing I noticed was how bloodshot his eyes were.

“Mr. Holiday,” he said.

“Yes, sir.”

He sat down in one of the chairs near me. “Explain to me how an ex-priest ends up performing an exorcism.”

I sighed. “Will asked me. At first, I wasn’t even sure she was possessed. When it became clear that she was, we contacted Father John.”

The sheriff motioned for me to go on.

“The church sanctioned the exorcism, but couldn’t get an exorcist here for six months. Apparently, in this country, what exorcists there are, are in high demand. With Lucy’s health the way it was, she couldn’t wait six months. So, Will and Tor asked me to exorcise Lucy.”

The sheriff leaned back in his chair. “That video’s the damnedest thing I’ve ever seen. Weird crap over the years at Blackmoor.”

I nodded.

“Got a AV guy from the appliance repair shop to look at it. He confirmed it wasn’t tampered with.” He shook his head. “My grandpa was the one who found old Black, you know?”

I stared at him. “No, I didn’t know that.”

He nodded. “That’s a bad house. Should be burned down.”

“At this point, the Andersens will probably agree with you.”

“Gotta' ask you to stick around. Least for a while.”

“That’s fine. Any motel’s around here?”

“Got a Day’s Inn out on seventy-seven.”

“That’s where I plan to be.”

He reached into his pocket and handed me a card. “Call me when you have the particulars.”

“Will do.”

###

Later that night, Tabby and I followed Will back to the house to get our things. He let us in. We didn’t talk though.

It only took Tabby and I about ten minutes to gather everything and leave.

As we left, I watched Blackmoor grow smaller and smaller through the side window. I was leaving Blackmoor, and I hoped I’d never have to see it again.

###

Lucy didn’t wake up, at least her body didn’t. What I’d come to think of as the “real” Lucy was around me all the time. Sometimes it was hard not to laugh at her antics. The doctors said Lucy was in a persistent vegetative state. After about a month, Sheriff Bedecki told me I could go home.

Will and Tor paid for my hotel room. Why they did it, I didn’t know. It was like they wanted to repay me somehow, but couldn’t stand to be around me. I didn’t blame them.

They stayed at the hotel also. I don’t know what they planned to do about Blackmoor. I never asked. We kept our conversations light.

When I left, all I got was a simple nod from Will.

###

Four months later…

I was trying to get everything ready for Tabby to move in. We decided we were going to give it another go. At least I’d finally found some freelance graphic design work. I lost my job in the month it took me waiting around to see if I was going to be charged with anything connected to what I’d come to think of as “the incident.”

Lucy was still with me. I hadn’t broken that part to Tabby yet. I hope she wouldn’t hold it against me too badly.

I’d just finished cleaning the house. Tabby was set to arrive tomorrow with the U-Haul. It was about eight, and I was tired.

“You’re going to get a phone call,” Lucy said, pushing a magazine in the middle of the coffee table.

“When?”

“Three,” she said in a sing-song voice.

I felt dread lick up my spine. “Not again.”

Lucy nodded. “Yup.”

“You going to help me? “ I asked.

She smiled her bright smile, teeth perfect, eyes dancing. “You bet!”

THE END

No book is born without sweat, pain, tears, or love. This book is no different.

To everyone at Crescent Moon Press, especially Steph Murray and Marlene Castricato, for giving
Sorrow’s Point
a home, my wonderful editor, Sheldon Reid, for making this book better than I ever imagined.

Thanks to the residents of Purgatory on AW, specifically my wonderful betas, Alice Loweecey, Maer Wilson, Tracey Martin, Tina Moss, and Leanan_sidhe for your guidance and dedication.

To Tabby Settle, Julia Long, Ashley Jenkins, and Amber Hoffer for being friends and letting me bounce my crazy ideas off you.

And, finally, my family deserves the best for putting up with my weird ideas and interests over the years.

Danielle DeVor spent her early years fantasizing about vampires and watching “Salem’s Lot,” “The Shining,” and “The Breakfast Club” way too many times.  She loves to crochet, mostly picture afghans. When not writing and reading about weird things, you will find her hanging out at the nearest coffee shop, enjoying a mocha frappuccino.  Stop by and visit her website at danielledevor.wordpress.com.