Beyond the Grave (21 page)

My stomach churned and I tried not to vomit. I looked away from Pate's body. “How did he die?” I asked Michael. “Can you tell?”

“There's a lot of blood,” he replied. He was still crouched down next to Pate. Bliss stood off to the side, averting her gaze. “Looks like he was stabbed in the neck.”

“Should we call the police?” Bliss asked.

“Not yet.” Michael stood up. “We can't do anything for him. We need to keep going.”

To keep going meant we needed to step around a shiny puddle of blood. I tried not to look down as I passed the heap on the floor. Bliss had a harder time than I did, as if she was afraid to go anywhere near the corpse. I held out my hand and she took it.

“Be strong,” I whispered.

“I'm trying,” she replied.

Michael turned right, toward the execution chamber. He walked with angry purpose. He was on a mission, I realized. It wasn't so much his duty to protect me or banish the
Watcher, though. He was determined to punish the thing that had killed his brother.

We reached the execution chamber. Before Michael could storm through the doors, I stopped him. “Do you know what you're doing?” I asked. “Because I don't want to see any more dead bodies today.”

He shrugged me off. “He's in there. He's in there right now, and I'm going to make him wish he wasn't.”

“I need to get my supplies,” Bliss said. “Give me a moment, okay?”

“Michael, think about this!” I hissed. “You can't go in there yet! Calm down and think.”

He looked at me with eyes filled with rage. “I
have
thought about this. Stay back, Charlotte.” He pushed open the door with both hands. “Lloyd Marcus Greene!” he yelled. “Come out here and face me!”

Bliss was behind me, holding a lit candle. As Michael charged forward, we stepped into the room carefully, scanning the corners. “Noah.” She pointed to a dark corner with the candle. “Look. There he is.”

At first, all I could see was debris. Chunks of wood from the shattered electric chair still lay scattered on the hard floor. It was too dark to see much in the murky corners, but the light from Bliss's candle helped direct my gaze until I finally saw him.

Noah was hunched in the corner, his back against the cement wall and his head between his knees. I wanted immediately to run to him, but Bliss held me back.

“Wait,” she whispered. “I think it's a trap. Help me make the circle of salt.”

Every instinct inside me screamed to go running to Noah, but I listened to Bliss. The fear was gone from her voice and
had been replaced by determined confidence. It was like a light switch had flicked on, and the Protector in her was now at full force. We worked quickly to pour a thick circle of salt on the floor. I didn't know where the Watcher was, but I could feel his presence, somehow. I knew he was nearby, that he could see us.

“Stay close to me,” Bliss whispered when we finished. “No matter what, stay where I can see you.”

“We have to save Noah.” I took a step forward, but Bliss pulled me back so hard that I lost my balance.

“Sorry,” she said. “Guess I'm stronger than I realized.”

Michael stood in the middle of the room. “Where are you?” he screamed. “Come out here!”

I could only stare at Noah. He flinched at the sound of Michael's screams but did not look up. My eyes were still adjusting to the darkness of the room. Light seeped in through cracks in the cement blocks, but it wasn't enough to illuminate the space. Bliss lit more candles, placing them around the circle.

“I am here.” The voice came from another corner of the room. It was a voice I had heard before, one that had lingered in my nightmares. It was neither male nor female.

But it was definitely evil.

Even though Bliss and Michael had never heard it before, they recognized the unmistakable sound of the Watcher and froze.

A wicked cackle filled the room. The laughter had no discernable source. It came from everywhere, hanging all around us. But there was no one else in the room. Michael began pulling objects out of his duffel bag.

“I'm going to get Noah,” Bliss said. “You keep him in the circle and stay there. And take this.” It was a shard of wood
from the electric chair. The sharp point at one end made it an ideal weapon.

She darted across the room, running fast in a straight line for the corner. Just as she reached Noah, something came shooting out from the opposite corner of the room. Arms outstretched and moving so fast it was little more than a black blur, the thing resembled a huge bat. It was on top of Bliss within a second, pulling her away from Noah and wrapping its long arms around her. She gasped in terrified shock.

I couldn't see the face of the Watcher. He was over six feet tall and the black trench coat he wore was ripped at the armpits, as if he was bulging out from its confines. Bliss struggled, but the Watcher's eerie hug kept her in place. He leaned down and whispered something into her ear.

Then he bit it off.

Bliss screamed. Michael was already standing, something clenched in his hand. He shot me a quick glance. “Stay there,” he ordered.

Then he was running forward, his hand out. He stabbed the Watcher in the lower back with the object, forcing him to release Bliss. She crumpled to the floor, breathing hard and holding one hand to her ear. I could see flesh hanging off the side of her face and wanted so badly to run to her. I peeled off my jacket, knowing that she would need it to stop the bleeding.

The Watcher quickly regained his strength and turned on Michael, who stepped backward. He was drawing the Watcher away from Bliss and Noah. I could pull one of them away, into the protective circle of salt. Noah sat in the corner, his knees drawn up to his chest and his head down. Bliss was struggling to get up, but she was on her hands and knees, blood running down the side of her face.

Michael was chanting something. With every backward
step he took, I saw a half second of time in which I could pull Bliss or Noah to a safer place. I still couldn't see the Watcher's face. He had one arm raised as if to strike down Michael and was matching him step for step. When they were more than halfway across the execution chamber, I made my choice.

Sprinting forward, I reached Bliss. She was in pain and needed help. I put my arms under hers and dragged her into the circle, smearing the salt. I gave her my jacket, then tried to repair the circle, cupping the salt with my hands and reforming it. “Noah,” Bliss croaked. “I have to save him.”

I gingerly held the jacket to the bloody hole where her ear had been. “You need medical attention,” I said softly. “I'll get Noah.”

She tried to sit up but a rush of pain forced her back down. “My notebook,” she gasped.

I scanned the floor, searching for what Bliss needed. I saw it lying just outside the circle. Kneeling down so that half my body was still within the perimeter, I stretched out my arms to grab the book. My fingers barely grazed it.

A few feet away, Michael was battling the Watcher. And, from a brief look in their direction, I could tell Michael was losing.

He stumbled as the Watcher brought both fists down on his shoulders. He tried to hit back, but the Watcher was too fast and easily stepped out the way. I wanted to help, but I knew that Bliss's notebook was more important at the moment. I dove for the book and pulled it back into the circle with me.

“Here.” I placed the open book in her hands. “I need to get Noah.”

“No,” she moaned. “It's not safe.”

“Neither is sitting here and hoping Michael can defeat that thing.”

The Watcher had him cornered. Michael was on the ground, looking up at his attacker. It was almost exactly like what had happened to my mother. Only the location was different. I knew what was about to happen, and a tidal wave of fear crashed into me and pulled me into the first stages of a panic attack. I felt lightheaded and tried to breathe deeply.

The Watcher's voice echoed throughout the room. “I had fun with your brother,” he said to Michael. Then he laughed. “So much fun.”

Michael closed his eyes. I turned away from the scene. I fought against the dizziness. A panic attack would not kill me. The Watcher might, but not this. I had to crawl to the corner in order to get to Noah. I had to ignore the sickening thump that erupted from the area where Michael was. I focused on my one goal: to pull Noah into the circle of protection. He was still hunched in the corner, but as I got nearer, he looked up.

I locked my eyes on his. “Charlotte?” he whispered.

I made it to him. I tried to smile, but I was having trouble breathing. “We have to go,” I wheezed.

“I think I like having you right here.” The Watcher's voice was directly behind me.

I bowed my head, trying not to cry. This was it. I had tried and I had failed. A peculiar thought flittered across my mind. I wondered what time it was, and knew I wouldn't be calling Annalise at noon as I had promised.

I slowly turned around so I could finally see the face of the thing that had left Pate's body in a hallway. I did not want to see what had been done to Michael, and the Watcher blocked my view of Bliss.

The Watcher gazed down at me. He was smiling. I knew
that smile. It reminded me of Ryan, for some reason. And then I knew who it was, and why he had chosen Noah.

The creature in front of me was Noah's father.

I sucked in my breath as the realization of what had been happening struck me. Noah's father had not arrived in town to crash a wedding. He had been lured here by the Watcher and had been meticulously stalking his prey for weeks, gradually infecting Noah until he had all of us right where he wanted us to be.

We were in his lair. The gate was open, and something within me understood that the Watcher intended to take us through that gate with him. We would disappear, and no one would ever know our fate.

I was past panic attacks. I was past anything remotely rational, and somehow, that gave me a curious kind of strength. When you know it's over, what is there left to lose?

“You can't have him,” I croaked, huddling closer to Noah.

The Watcher grinned. He had too many teeth, I thought. His skin stretched like rubber across his mouth. “He's already mine.” He squatted in front of me, the way an adult might do if he was speaking to a small child.

“You're all coming with me.” His breath hit my face and I turned away, trying not to breathe in the foul odor of decay
ing flesh. “You're my special sacrifice.” He reached out and curled a tendril of my hair between his fingers. “My
very
special sacrifice.”

I swallowed a sob. I thought of my parents and my sister and the wedding I would never attend. And I thought of Noah, who felt like a rock, cold and unmoving. This wasn't fair. I had not chosen any of this. It had chosen me. Then Noah's hand found mine. I felt his fingers searching for my own, but slowly, as if he didn't want the Watcher to notice. He squeezed my hand lightly, and I knew that he was out of his trance. I also knew that if I could turn around and see him, he would still have that glassy look in his eyes. He needed the Watcher to believe that he was still under his control. Feeling Noah's grasp gave me a burst of energy. “I'm not going anywhere with you,” I said.

This earned me another cackle. “Princess, you don't have a choice.”

But I did. I could choose to accept this conquest or go out fighting. Bliss was still in the circle, chanting softly. In the opposite corner, Michael was stirring. I needed to keep the Watcher focused on me.

“I defeated you once,” I said, making my voice loud. “I can do it again.”

The Watcher pulled at the curl of my hair still entwined between his fingers. It came out—along with a piece of my scalp. Blood trickled down my forehead and tears stung at my eyes, but I refused to let him see the pain he'd caused. It was nothing compared to what Bliss and Michael had endured.

“You did not defeat me. You simply prolonged the inevitable.” The Watcher licked the blood at the end of my clump of hair. He closed his eyes in delight.

And that was the precise moment Michael made his move.
Armed with the bolt cutters he had used earlier, my Protector sprang forward, clasping the tool around the Watcher's right ankle. Even though the Watcher was part demon, he was still using a human body. When the bolt cutters made contact, the Watcher howled in pain.

He spun around. Noah leapt up, grabbing my hand. We ran toward the doors leading out of the execution chamber. I wanted to take Bliss with us, but Noah pulled me forward and out of the room.

We raced down the hallway lined with jail cells, passing Pate's body. The doorway leading to the stairwell was nearby, but I was having trouble remembering exactly where it was located—halfway down the hallway or all the way at the end? Behind us, the doors of the execution chamber flung open, hitting the cement walls with a bang that reverberated throughout the penitentiary. “Hide.” Noah panted.

I ducked into the next cell and without thinking pulled the door shut. Metal clanged against metal and I winced. An unlocked jail cell was no place to hide, especially with the sunlight streaming in through the grime-streaked window.

I could hear the Watcher as he approached my cell. His labored breathing was loud, his heavy footsteps sluggish. Michael had wounded him. Maybe Bliss's prayers were working, as well. He was not the fast-flying thing that had come out of nowhere. His power had diminished, but that didn't mean he was weak enough to subdue.

He was also a few feet away from me. I didn't know where Noah was. I was defenseless. Trapped in a cage. I had no way out.

As the Watcher's footsteps got closer, I backed myself into the farthest corner of the cell. My heart pounded so loudly I was sure it could be heard throughout the entire building. I
took a deep breath and kept my eyes on the entrance to the cell. I had nothing, and something bad was coming for me.

I braced myself for the Watcher's appearance. And when I saw him, I tried to keep breathing, to focus my mind. Even if all I could do was stall him from reaching Noah, it was something. The Watcher's black eyes found mine. “I'll be back for you,” he snarled. His words seemed to sizzle in the air. He lurched forward, down the hall. I wanted him to keep going, to put some distance between my cell and wherever Noah was. I wasn't going to remain here. But again I reminded myself that there was little I could do. I had no weapon. How could I hurt this thing without one?

But even when you think you have nothing, you still have yourself.

As the Watcher's footsteps grew more distant, I let myself out of the cell, carefully sliding open the door so it didn't make too much noise. He was almost to the end of the hallway and, I assumed, near Noah.

I could do only one thing: run to the end of the hall and leap onto the Watcher's back. Maybe it would give Noah enough time to escape to the stairwell. But as I began to run, I heard something. My first thought was that it sounded a lot like horses stampeding in my direction. I stopped, confused. Then a doorway flung open, and Beth emerged from the stairwell. Behind her were Ryan and Jeff.

“Over there!” I screamed, pointing to the end of the hall.

Ryan and Jeff immediately charged forward. Did they know the Watcher was their father? Beth looked at me. “Annalise is waiting in the van outside,” she said. “Get out of here. Now!”

She took off down the hallway after Jeff and Ryan. The door to the stairwell—to my escape—was only a few feet away from me. But Bliss was wounded. Michael might be dead. I had to go back for them.

I ran in the opposite direction, jumping over Pate's body like a track star completing hurdles. Inside the execution chamber, Bliss was kneeling inside the circle. Her right hand pressed my jacket to her ear. Her left hand held her open notebook.

“Let's go!” I yelled. “Beth is here. Come on!”

“I have to finish this.” Her voice was oddly calm. “I can't leave yet.”

I was already at her side. “Yes, you can. Help has arrived. You don't have to do this.” I got her to her feet, then looked around the room. Michael lay on his back in the other corner. I could see dark liquid surrounding his head.

“Check on him,” Bliss said. “I need to complete this.”

I left her inside the circle and rushed over to Michael. I was afraid to look at him, afraid to touch him and discover that he was dead. But I did it anyway, stepping in the blood and holding his hand in mine. It wasn't cold, but it wasn't exactly warm.

“Can you hear me?” I asked.

His eyes fluttered open. “Close the gate,” he groaned.

I felt relief that he was still alive. “I don't know how to do that,” I said. “But Beth is here. We can get you out and she can close the gate.” Even as I said it, I knew it was not going to be possible for me to help both Michael and Bliss escape. Michael was too injured to sit up, much less run.

“Only blood will do it,” Michael murmured.

“Right. Blood.” There was enough of that all over the floor. I took a breath, then cupped my hands together and collected some of his blood.

“Over there!” Bliss shouted. I looked in the direction she was pointing. One wall glowed with a faint red outline. The gate. I approached it with the sticky blood covering my hands. The red light glowed dark and formed a kind of arch. I thrust
my hands forward, wiping the blood in the middle of the arch. Immediately, a howl erupted from the hallway beyond the execution chamber, followed by a chorus of yelling.

I returned to Michael. Needing more blood than my hands could hold, I took off my shoe and used it to scoop at the congealing puddle. “Sorry,” I said to Michael. “I know this is gross.” He didn't respond, but I could see that he was still breathing.

I carried my shoe back to the gate and poured the little blood I had collected onto the wall. As soon as it touched the cement, another howl exploded. But this time it was much, much closer.

Turning around, I saw the Watcher leaning against the doorway, panting heavily. He limped toward me. A knife protruded from his neck. I frantically smeared the blood from the bottom of my shoe onto the wall. The Watcher staggered back.

Suddenly, Beth appeared. As she raised her hand to strike the Watcher with another blade, he sensed her presence, spun around and grabbed both her arms. The cracking sound that followed made me instantly sick to my stomach. Beth didn't scream, though. She simply slumped to the floor, her useless arms bent at unnatural angles.

I needed more blood, but there was no way for me to get to Michael. The Watcher was blocking him. I could see Bliss pulling an unconscious Beth into the circle. She had let go of my blood-soaked jacket.

Ryan and Noah burst through the doors next. Ryan tackled the Watcher from behind. Noah was about to, as well, but I caught his eye. “My jacket!” I screamed. Bliss tossed it to him, and Noah sprinted over to me. I pressed it into the wall, which started to give way. The cement blocks moved back as if they were being inhaled. The Watcher shrieked and
bucked Ryan off his shoulders. The Watcher came right for us. I looked at Noah.

“I have never loved anyone more than I love you,” he said, taking my hand. He bowed his head to kiss it. And that's when I saw the deep gash across the side of his face, a jagged line that ran from near his left eye and all the way down to his chin.

“I love you, too.” I wiped the blood from his face. Then I pressed my hand into the wall with all the force I had in me.

The cement bricks dissolved and ruby-red light poured through. The Watcher screeched as he fell to the floor. Invisible hands seemed to pull at him, dragging him toward the gate. He clawed at the cement floor, but there was nothing to hold on to. He was being sucked into the gate. Noah wrapped his arms around me and began to move me away from the wall. The Watcher's legs were no longer visible, but his arms still clawed at the air—and fastened onto my arm.

I was too shocked to feel the pain as the Watcher's clawlike fingers dug into my skin. I was aware of a ripping sensation, but it was only afterward, when Noah had hauled me away and used his shirt to try and stop the bleeding, did I realize what had happened.

We all stared as the Watcher disappeared down into the gaping red hole. His screams became more distant, until finally there were only a painful whisper. The bricks slowly reassembled themselves. The red light flashed even more brightly, then dimmed and faded until it was gone, leaving the wall as it had been before, with no trace of the gate. Sirens wailed in the distance. I held on to Noah, and he hugged me tightly to his chest.

Footsteps pounded down the hall. Annalise stood in the doorway, her eyes wild with fear. “I waited,” she said, out of breath. “Then I called the police.” She took in the scene, the
battlefield of bodies. Ryan was coughing, Beth was still unconscious. It wasn't okay, but it was over.

The gate was closed.