Spirit Mountain (8 page)

Chapter Eighteen

I crept through the eerie forest of Spirit Mountain, trying not to wake that sleeping giant, Simon. The guy had a wicked set of fingernails and I’d rather not encounter him again. I had to warn Ty about Simon’s anger and reason for killing the mayors’ daughters through the course of the past two hundred-plus years.

Something tackled me to the leafy ground and I slid before I could see who it was. Lifting my head, I couldn’t believe my eyes. “Logan? You’re here?”

“Yeah, but Grams is here, too.” He placed his index finger up to his lips, signaling for me to keep quiet.

“How? Where? Where is she?”

“She watched you from her mirror and found out about the portal. She stepped through the mirror and followed you into your room and then through the portal to Spirit Mountain. Lucky for me, I regained consciousness just before the weird shiny substance in the mirror closed, I ran and dived through it, landing on the floor in your room. I followed her here. I think she set out to find Simon.”

“We need to stop your grandmother, Logan. She’s a powerful witch.”

Logan stared at me, still in shock and disbelief at my words about his grandmother. But like me, he’d seen the hard evidence.

We heard the rustling of leaves a few feet away and turned to see Ty. He whistled for us to follow him around the forest trees. We took off running toward him. When we reached Ty, he had us kneel down, just as he did.

“Listen to me,” Ty said, “there’s a ripple in Spirit Mountain.”

“Ripple? What’s that mean?” I shifted to scan the area.

“Someone who lived prior to Spirit Mountain’s existence, has stepped into this realm. It’s causing havoc inside this place.”

“Havoc?” Logan asked.

“It’s like Spirit Mountain wants to spit it out. Look at the trees.”

We glanced up to see the trees swaying violently. “We need to find her, Ty. Logan’s grandmother is also Simon’s mother.”

“She’s here. I can sense her. Let’s go.” Ty led us through a path in Spirit Mountain where we’d never been. We maneuvered through mud patches, purple streams and a patch of fireflies that parted as we passed.

When we found Edith, we also found Simon. I was shocked at how normal Simon looked—a seventeen-year-old boy with sandy-blonde hair and the same dark eyes as Ty. I realized that their eyes must have turned that color when they died, indicating that they were spirits.
The eyes are the window into one’s soul,
and we were staring directly at their souls.

An aura of anger surrounded Simon. He glared at Edith with an expression of hate, his body trembling.

“So, that’s what he looks like,” Ty muttered to himself. He clapped his knuckles together, moving to intervene, but I stopped him.

“Let this happen,” I said. “It’s how we put an end to this. Edith needs to confront her son and his killings.”

Ty scanned my face. “But if you’re caught up in Spirit Mountain when the end comes, you may never get home.”

I nodded. “I know.”

We turned our attention back to Edith.

“Son,” she said, moving closer to Simon with her long, wrinkled fingers interlocked in front of her.

“Don’t come any closer, Mother. I will blast you to hell where you belong if you take another step!”

“Simon, I’m your mother. I’ve given you all of this, have I not?”

“This?” His face scrunched in anger as he scanned his surroundings. “This prison you’ve enslaved me to?”

She glanced around Spirit Mountain. “It’s as beautiful as I imagined it to be.”

“This is not beauty, Mother. This is my own personal hell that you conjured up in that warped mind of yours. Why would you do this to someone you profess to love?”

“You were but a child, Simon. And I wasn’t ready to let you go.”

“So, you trapped me here?”

“I thought it would bring you comfort if I kept you close to me, to Castleborough.”

Simon swung around and slammed the sides of his fists into the tree next to him, sending it crashing onto the forest ground. “You caused my death! You felt guilty about it and bound me to this earth. You’re a heartless woman!”

“I am your mother!” Edith stepped toward Simon, but he jabbed his hands at her, using the power of his spirit to fling her back, slamming her into a tree. Her limp body lay silent for a few seconds before she sucked in a breath of air.

At first, Logan badly wanted to attack Simon. I could feel his confusion. Naturally, he wanted to defend his grandmother, but after finding out she was a witch, he wasn’t sure what to do or how to feel. The turmoil was written all over his face.

I locked my fingers into his and squeezed, trying to offer him some measure of reassurance. Although, to be honest, I didn’t know how this would all turn out.

As howling winds swept over the forest floor, scattering leaves about and swaying everything from our hair to our clothes, we stood watching this family drama with a mixture of fear and awe.

Edith stood, dusting the leaves off her long, black gown. “How dare you slight me after all I’ve done in your name? In your honor.”

Simon’s eyes turned an ominous red. “My name? My honor? You’ve destroyed my name and dishonored my memory.”

“I’ve righted the wrongs done to you.” Edith shook her head, age wrinkles scattered about her brow.

Simon stepped toward his mother, balling his fists at his sides. “You were the one who used your witchcraft to discover the mayor’s daughter’s impending death. I gave them the message—you stood by and watched them kill me for fear that they’d retaliate against you and burn you at the stake on top of this mountain. You let the town make me your scapegoat, Mother. You sacrificed your own son!”

“Lies! You’ve no idea of the great love I have for you. You’d have to be a mother to understand it. The sacrifices I’ve made for you. And how do you repay me? You steal the life of your own blood—of my blood!”

“Grams!” Logan called out. “What do you mean, life of your own blood?”

Edith glanced at her grandson, but remained silent until she could gather her thoughts. “Not now, sugar. This isn’t—”

“No! Right here, right now!” Logan balled his fists as he took bold steps toward Simon, glaring at the vengeful spirit he was related to in some bizarre way. “You mean Ashlyn, don’t you? You killed her, you son of a bitch.” Logan darted toward Simon, cocking his right fist back as he prepared to attack.

“Nooo!” Edith shouted. But it was too late.

Simon locked his angry eyes on Logan. He extended an open palm toward the charging boy, freezing him where he stood. As he raised his hand, he levitated Logan’s paralyzed body. With a devilish smile, Simon thrust his arm forward, sending Logan reeling through the air. Logan was just about to crash into a tree when Ty disappeared and reappeared behind him, catching him in his arms.

As Ty gently placed Logan, barely conscious, down at the base of a large tree, thunderous storms loomed overhead. Clouds shifted from white to black as the day turned to night and raindrops as big as hailstones came crashing down upon Spirit Mountain.

Ty moved back. “Rain? We’ve never had rain on Spirit Mountain.”

I ran toward Logan to make sure he was okay. Holding his head in my lap, I stroked his forehead.

Anger seethed from Simon as he shifted his gaze to his mother.

Edith stepped closer to her son, briefly casting black eyes toward him before closing them. With her hands in the air, she began a portentous spell:

Soul sisters, if you can hear me, listen to my plea,

Bind this spirit which spouts negativity.

He stands before me, his soul under lock and key,

A barrier used to curse him for eternity.

As Edith chanted into the sky with her eyes closed, Simon, still some distance away, reached out his hand and seized her by the neck, choking her words so they wouldn’t leave her lips.

“Tell them, Mother,” he yelled above the winds and storm. “Tell them who
really
killed those girls. All of them! How else was I to get your attention but to kill one of your own? I wanted you to feel the pain and hurt you were causing the families of those poor innocent girls. I wanted you to let me go.”

“Oh, my God,” I said under my breath. “He did kill your sister, Logan. But your grandmother killed all the other girls.”

Logan pushed himself up, a deep scowl on his brow. “Now, we let them kill each other.”

Simon released his grip around his mother’s neck. “Admit your sins, Mother.”

“I killed them!” Edith screamed, the veins in her neck bulging. “I killed them all because they took my only son. They took you from me when you were only a child. Don’t you know a mother would do
anything
for her child?”

“Then die for me!” He threw his hands in the air, creating a massive hurricane. Edith dropped on her knees, clutching at her throat. Gathering herself, she rose, now flashing a contemptuous look at her begrudged son.

Mother and son stood in a circle of swirling leaves and debris, equally passionate. They prepared to go head to head, unraveling centuries of hate and anger.

Ty turned to Logan and me by the tree. “You have to go. Go through the portal now. Simon is bringing down Spirit Mountain. If you stay here, you’ll be trapped.”

“What about you? What’ll happen to you, Ty?”

“Don’t worry about me, Beth. My spirit must be freed. Whatever happens here, I expect that to be my fate. This is a spiritual battle. You two must leave.” His eyes suddenly shined a bright red like Simon’s had earlier. “NOW!”

I helped Logan to his feet. “We’ve gotta go.”

I stared into Ty’s eyes, hardly recognizing him in his passion. “Thank you, Ty. I will always remember you.”

His eyes returned to their beautiful soft sparkle as he reached his open palm to the side of my face. “Your powers will grow stronger. Use them for good, Beth. Help others.”

I nodded, taking Logan by the hand and pulling him along with me. We moved twenty feet when he heard Simon’s deep voice bellowing.

“No one leaves Spirit Mountain! You will die here with us.”

Sucking in my breath, we turned to face him. He glared at us, the wind whipping my hair and the raindrops pelting us in the face. “Let us leave, Simon. We mean you no harm.”

“You will die,” he roared, causing a streak of lightning to crash and whip through the air, hitting a massive tree and bringing it down.

Ty stepped up and extended his arms at his sides to shield us. “You will not lay a finger on them, not if I have anything to say about it.”

“Stand down, spirit. You’re no match for me.”

“We’ll see about that. It’s a pity your mother’s quest for vengeance has corrupted your heart and contaminated you with this rage you feel. But you can fight it, Simon. You’re not a vengeful spirit. I can sense it. You’re like me, but she changed you. She made you this way. You don’t have to kill anyone else.”

“You don’t know anything about me.”

As the two spirits stared each other down, the ground quaked and the winds blew more violently, threatening to destroy everything in its path.

“Grams!” Logan yelled. “Help us get out of here.”

With the flick of her wrist, she threw a barrier around us before turning to Ty. “This is a matter between me and my son. Do not intervene.”

With a heavy breath, Ty relaxed his balled fists, causing the tremors to subside. “Help them get out of here, then. It’s the least you can do.”

Edith glared at her son. “You’ve already taken one of my grandchildren—you will let this one go.”

“You’ve imprisoned my soul, Mother. You will now suffer the same fate.” Simon threw up his hands and brought them down, causing the inner part of Spirit Mountain to crumble. And with that, the protective barrier that Edith had thrown around us dissolved.

Logan yelled in my ear, “We’ve gotta go or we’ll be trapped here, too.”

I nodded. We took off running, his hand wrapped around mine. Dodging branches and tree chunks crashing down around us, we moved through Spirit Mountain’s hurtling debris. The rain poured as the ungodly skies cracked with lightning, spitting out more hailstones at our feet. I glanced down as the alarm on my phone rang, causing us to pick up our pace.

“We’re not going to make it,” I shouted.

Logan struggled to catch his breath. “Run! Run! Run!”

When we reached the portal opening, we ran our hands along the wall, but it was closed.
Nothing there.
“It’s closed, Logan! The portal’s closed!”

Panicking as sheer terror filled our hearts, we both relentlessly pounded at the wall. “Aunt Vine! Uncle Ernie, please!” I screamed in despair. “Let us in!” I knew they couldn’t hear us, but it was my natural instinct to call out to them. I had to reach them somehow.

Running out of options, I spun around. I yanked on Logan’s jacket, directing his eyes toward what I was witnessing—Spirit Mountain was imploding right before our eyes as the ground cracked, sending ripples of earth toward us. “We’re not going to make it.” My tears mixed with the pelting raindrops. I slid down the wall, crying.