Twisted Sisters (The Orion Circle Book 2) (20 page)

Kacie

The fierce wind dies down abruptly, and I brush the hair from my face. I see my reflection in the mirrored closet door. Dear God, I look like I was caught in a tornado with my hair sticking up all over the place. My skin is ashen, my eyes wide. I glance at Blake’s reflection. He doesn’t look much better. I’ve never seen his skin so pale. His arms are still wrapped around me to the point of pain. I’m going to have some lovely bruises tomorrow.

“She gone?” Blake asks in a whisper.

“For now.” I send my aura out a bit, searching for anything unusual. “I don’t feel anything.”

“I guess we bored her.” Blake pushes me to my feet. “There are still four kids in this house somewhere. We have five more rooms to search.”

“I have a strange feeling… like we’re missing something very important.”

“Any idea what?”

“Where did the crime happen?” I pull out my phone and dial Rebecca, asking her the same question when she answers.

“Give me a minute…” Computer keys click in the background as Rebecca searches for the answer. “Um, we know it was upstairs because Amy fell down the stairs.”

“Which floor? The house is three stories.”

“Not in this picture it isn’t,” Rebecca says. “I’m looking at a two-story house here. The third story was added sometime after the crime.”

“Thanks.”

“I won’t keep you,” Rebecca says, her voice full of concern. “But you don’t sound well. Let me know if you need anything.”

I disconnect the call and shove the phone back into my pocket. Footsteps bang on the floor above us‌—‌the others looking for the stupid kids. But the real action won’t take place there. I have a feeling that Tracy will want to confront me in the room where it all happened thirty years ago. Blake nods when I share my revelation.

“Do you know which room?” he asks as we head down the dark hall.

“No clue. I figured she’d help us find it.”

More footsteps pound from above‌—‌several pairs of feet running, followed by a
thud
. Then silence. I push the next door open, shining my flashlight around, unsure what I’m looking for. It’s just another normal room: beds, posters, dressers, books… nothing unusual.

“What did I expect to find? Blood stains on the wall?” Though I whispered it under my breath, Blake still heard me.

“Yeah, I doubt anyone would voluntarily live in a room covered in blood stains.” He continues down the hall, then stops and backs up. Is he counting his paces? “Something’s off here.”

“What?” I look around the hall, unable to find anything odd.

“There’s extra space here… like something was closed off.”

I shine my light over the wall. It looks normal. A rectangular table sits in front of it, and several framed sorority photos hang on the light blue wall. I run my fingers over the paint. It isn’t until I step back that I realize how long the table is‌—‌at least five or six feet long. Blake is right, it is odd, and yet…

“It’s not wallpaper. Did you think we’d peel it back and find a door?” I laugh, but it comes out sounding more frightened than amused. “This isn’t an Edgar Allan Poe story.” As though on cue, Poe lands on the table, poking at his wing feathers with his beak. “And you’re a crow not a raven,” I tell the bird as he turns his red eyes on me.

“It wouldn’t be that hard to drywall over a door.”

“Well it’s not like we can get sledgehammers and break through the wall to check.”

Intense shivers rack my body. Oh, this isn’t good at all. All of my instincts scream that there’s something bad behind the wall. Just as I’m about to back away, a ghostly face emerges from the wall. Large and distorted, it warps and stretches like something out of a nightmare. I bite back a scream as the face morphs into a girl‌—‌Tracy.

“I see you found the party,” she says. Her hysterical laughter sends more tremors through my body. “Don’t leave yet. The fun hasn’t even started.”

She disappears, then pops back, enveloping me within her ethereal form. Iciness surrounds me seeping through my skin.

Logan

A scream cuts through the house, sending chills through me and raising the hair on my arms. Kacie‌—‌I’d recognize her voice anywhere. Why the hell isn’t Blake doing a better job protecting her? I watch Mr. Kincaid usher two frightened middle-school boys toward the staircase, clenching my jaw to keep from yelling at them to move faster. They’re frightened, I get it. But can’t they move? You’d think they’d want out of this hell house, but the way those two drag their feet…

When I hear Blake shout something incomprehensible, I push past everyone, taking the stairs as fast as I can. The adults can find the remaining two kids. Pain lances through my leg, radiating from my swollen knee. I grip the railing to keep from falling the last few steps. As I limp down the dark hallway, my eyes scan for any trace of my friends. There! Surrounded in dark gray mist. Blake holds Kacie against him, his arms straining as though playing tug-of-war. If that werewolf is straining, the force must be immense. Kacie thrashes around, her hair flying everywhere.

I freeze, unsure what to do. Rushing in full throttle could cause more harm than good. After watching the scene for a few more seconds, I shout, “Tracy!”

Blake flies backward and impacts the wall, Kacie still wrapped in his arms. The mist encircles me, the icy cold cutting through to my bones. I brace myself, waiting to be cast to the ceiling or thrown across the hall. Nothing. Tracy’s spirit evaporates, leaving behind nothing but a chill lingering in the air.

“I’ve never been the object of tug-of-war before,” Kacie murmurs, rubbing the back of her head. It must have banged against Blake’s shoulder when he hit the wall.

“At least you weren’t embedded in a wall,” Blake says, eyeing the hole in the wall left by his body.

“I think I broke my head on your shoulder.”

I pull Kacie to her feet, enfolding her in my arms. “Are you okay?”

“Thanks to Blake.” She shivers in my embrace, wrapping her arms around me and clutching my back. “She keeps trying to possess me. Doesn’t realize I’ve dealt with so much worse than her.” She leans in close, her words barely a whisper. “She’s really strong. I’m scared.”

“Your skin is like ice.” I place both palms on her pink cheeks, trying to warm her up.

“Yeah, I’m fine over here,” Blake says as he pushes to his feet. “Don’t mind the werewolf-sized hole in the wall.”

Ignoring him, I lean down and kiss her cold nose as she continues to tremble in my arms. He stalks over to the other wall, shoving a long table out of the way. It flies down the hall, landing on its side. Looks like Tracy managed to piss off Blake‌—‌not like it’s that hard or anything.

“She got all pissy when I said I’d break down this wall,” he says, knocking on the wood. “I think that’s just what I’ll do.”

“I thought she wanted to lead us to the place she died,” Kacie says, stepping away. My arms fall to my sides as she moves to the wall, running her fingers along the paint. “But I think she was protecting it, keeping us away for some reason.”

Loud crashes bang from downstairs one after the other. When we don’t move or react, more banging, crashing, and thudding follows.

“See, she’s trying to distract us.” Kacie knocks on the wall. “It’s like she’s throwing a tantrum… What could be behind here that she wants to protect so badly?”

Kacie’s phone rings.

“You’re on speaker, Rebecca. What did you find out?”

“Tracy was cremated. Her remains are in a mausoleum at Haven Head Cemetery. I mean it’s not like we’d go dig up a grave anyway, but that’s definitely not an option here.”

“You don’t actually dig up graves do you?” Blake asks with wide eyes.

“No, of course not.” I snap at him. “This isn’t a TV show. Can you imagine us in a graveyard in the middle of the night with shovels? Please… besides, modern caskets are sealed and you need equipment to get them out. We’d need a court order.”

“Sorry,” Blake says, his voice dripping sarcasm. “I’m not our resident ghost expert.”

“It’s okay, Blake. It sounds like Logan’s overdue for his pain meds,” Rebecca says. I bite my tongue to keep the nasty retort at bay. Hell, she’s right… I am overdue for some pain relief.

“If she was cremated, then anything could be tying her spirit here,” Kacie says still eyeing the wall as though it contains lost secrets.

“It doesn’t really matter, though,” Rebecca says. “I think banishment through burning is the same as an exorcism. And I hate to think where she might end up if she’s exorcised.”

Blake shakes his head. “Wait, cremation
is
burning.”

“Thanks, Rebecca,” Kacie says before disconnecting the call. “Cremation sets the spirit free. If a spirit is tied to our plane and we force it to leave through burning, then it’s a bit different.”

“How so?”

“We perform a brief exorcism rite before burning an object we think ties a spirit here.”

“I don’t understand—”

I cut off the conversation. “We don’t have time for this bullshit.”

“He needs to understand,” Kacie says, laying her hand on my arm. “Whether a spirit realizes it or not, they are using dark magic or forces to tie their consciousness here. When we burn the thing tying them, it severs that magic. Rebecca’s doing some fascinating research on this. I’m sure she’d be thrilled to share.”

“Good enough.” Blake grins. “Now, can I smash through this wall?”

“One minute.” I pull out my phone to call Mr. Kincaid. When he answers, I don’t waste time. “We think there’s a hidden room. Can Blake tear down the wall?”

“Well? Can I?”

“You’re entirely too excited about this. Mr. Kincaid’s on his way up.”

As we’re waiting for approval, Blake sizes up the wall, making a big show of it… probably to annoy me. Damn but it works. I need to do a better job controlling my emotions around him. The last thing I want is for him to have any insight into my feelings. It’s hard to believe we were best friends five years ago. The memory brings images I’d prefer remain buried, and I clamp it down deep within me. I refuse to allow Tracy to use these memories against me…

Blake looks at me with inscrutable eyes. He knows what I’m thinking. His throat convulses as he swallows hard. I shake my head, and he goes back to his exploration of the wall. I feel a light tap on my arm. Glancing at Kacie, I try to ignore the question in her eyes. She saw the exchange, but I’m not ready to share‌—‌not yet, and certainly not here.

Chapter Twenty-Four — Tear Down that Wall

Chapter Twenty-Four

Tear Down that Wall

Kacie

Such an odd exchange between Logan and Blake. Something big happened between them. But I can’t ask with a memory-stealing, emotion-abusing ghost lurking nearby. With the two of them working together so often now, it will come out‌—‌probably sooner rather than later.

Footsteps pound on the stairs making me tense for a moment. Our resident spirit has been quiet for a few minutes. Regrouping? Waiting? I release my aura, searching for anything unusual. Nothing. No cold spots or lurking shadows. My pulse races along with my vibrating bracelet. The only reminder that darkness lurks nearby. A breeze wafts down the hall, and I whip my head around looking for the source. Dark shadows dance on the ceiling for a second or two before disappearing. Were they even there? She has me jumping at shadows and wind.