Deadly Chaos (20 page)

“What’s going on? I don’t understand.” Chaos watched, frozen, as the scene played out in front of her.

“The black must be Bill but we don’t know what the mist is. Maybe it’s Susan, the ghost that warned you.”

“What’s growling?”

“We don’t know.”

“You can get rid of it, right? You can get rid of Bill?” It had to be Bill, Chaos thought. She couldn’t handle anything else stalking her.

“I believe that we can,” Linda said. “Kat, do you have any more to show us?”

“I have an audio and a few pictures to show you. Here’s the audio.” She hit play on her computer.

Chaos could hear Linda, Kat and Sheila chanting in the background. She knew immediately that this was the attack in the kitchen. She heard growling and she heard two words repeated over and over again. “My life. My life.”

“What does that mean?” Sheila asked.

“Please show us the pictures, Kat,” Linda said. She’d moved to the edge of her chair. Her brow was furrowed in concentration.”

“Okay. I put them in a slide show so you can compare them. This first one is of Chaos the day we met her. In fact, it’s moments after we met her and she’s outside heading to the van. Look, there are orbs around her head. This second one is at the bakery, more orbs. I have about fifty of those and there are orbs around her in every single one. Now, here’s a photo taken at the bar the other night. There are orbs but look how far away they are. They’re like three feet away. I only have a few photos of her from that distance but as you can see there are orbs in each one of them and they’re always at the far edge of her perimeter. At first, I thought the orbs were gone because they’re not close in around her but they’re still there. They’re just...”

“They’re at the edge of her aura,” Sheila chimed in. “It’s like they can’t get in. I bet it has something to do with that necklace. You weren’t wearing the necklace that night. Do you have more pictures?”

“I have some from this afternoon. Chaos is in the back yard having lunch and the orbs are outside too. You can see them in the same two to three feet vicinity.”

“Chaos,” Linda said. “Do you mind if we do a little experiment?”

Chaos shrugged. She’d put her life in their hands, she might as well go along with them.

“Kat, go get your digital camera please. We’ll meet you across the street.”

Chaos shoved to her feet and wondered how many orbs were circling her now and why? What did they want? “Why across the street?”

“I’ve protected my house and I think we’ll get better results if we’re away from it. Dakota, be on the ready.”

Dakota nodded and a fist of fear clenched in Chaos’s gut. They marched out the door and across the street, a solemn group. They stopped. Dakota put his arm around her.

“Do you want us under the street light or away from it?” Dakota asked.

“How about ten feet away from it? Why don’t you stand over there?” Kat pointed to a place on the sidewalk.

Dakota turned to Linda and held out his hand. She gave him the necklace. “Be careful,” she said.

“Stick close.”

“We will.”

Kat was already shooting photos. Chaos could hear the shutter clicking away, rapid fire,  like she was shooting a fashion show. She turned to Dakota. “Now what?”

“Let her take a few more photos and then put this on.” He held out the necklace to her. It scared her to see him holding it. She waited almost expectantly for a car to come out of nowhere and jump the curb. She took the necklace and put it on. The metal of Nike felt cold against her skin but it felt familiar, too. She tried to feel a curse or what Linda would call ‘bad energy’ but she didn’t feel any different. She inhaled and tried to relax as Kat took photos. Somewhere nearby someone had a fire in their fireplace. Chaos could smell the scent of burning wood. Rotting leaves combined with the scent and filled her with a longing she couldn’t define. Except for the short time in Linda’s garden, she hadn’t been outside in nature for days. She missed it. It was nice to be in the outdoors, even if she was only standing on the sidewalk of a suburban neighborhood.

“All set,” Kat hollered.

“Give me back the necklace.” Dakota held out his hand.

Chaos unclasped the necklace and reluctantly dropped it in his hand. It was her only connection to her mother and not wearing it felt like a betrayal. Dakota turned and passed it to Linda who had joined them.

“Let’s see what we’ve found,” she said.

Back inside, Kat hooked her camera up to the television so they could all see the images. Chaos couldn’t believe her eyes. There were orbs around her in the photos. “They’re always around me.” In each photo, even as Dakota stood next to her, she was surrounded by balls of light. In a few she could see streaks of light heading toward her.

“Skip forward to the photos where she has the necklace on.”

Chaos watched as the photos blurred past on the television. The images stopped. Chaos heard a collective gasp. The orbs were literally connected to her, attached to her head like glowing bubbles. “What does that mean?”

Chapter Twenty-Five

New Moon

Dakota watched Linda rise to her feet, slowly, like she was in pain. “Kat, please turn the images off and thank you for showing us everything. You worked hard to review all of that footage and I appreciate it. Let’s get some coffee. I think we’re going to need it.”

Kat turned off the television and they followed Linda into the kitchen. Dakota made sure to bring up the rear. He paused and watched Chaos as she made her way into the kitchen. She looked a bit overwhelmed. He supposed he would be too if he’d just witnessed the same thing happening to him. Then again, he’d been through worse. It was true and knowing that, he realized he might be the only person who could help her come to grips with what was going on.

“Dakota,” Linda said. “Do you want to explain to Chaos what is going on?”

He nodded. He doubted that Sheila or Kat understood the full ramifications of the orbs. They knew Chaos was special but they didn’t understand the implications. “Grab a cup of coffee and let’s go outside.” Dakota touched the small of her back with his fingertips and leaned in for a whisper. He couldn’t resist inhaling her scent. “Linda’s yard is protected. You don’t have to worry about.”

“My glowing head,” she said, interrupting him.

She turned and flashed him a hesitant smile. She was trying to be strong. He admired her for it. “Yeah.”

“How’d you know I could use the fresh air?”

“Your face always brightens up when you’re outside. You get lighter. I’m learning to read you better.”

“I don’t know if that’s a good thing.”

“Me neither.” They stepped outside. The air had changed. He could smell the nearby ranch. A cold wind was blowing up from the east. That usually meant snow. “Is it okay out here? Do you need a coat?”

“I’m good. It feels nice to be outside,” she said. Chaos took a seat on the top of the steps. “Thank you.”

“You looked a bit overwhelmed,” he said, sitting on the step beside her.

“I was. I am. New moon.”

He looked up into the sky and noted the absence of the visible moon.

“Where I live,” she continued. “You can look up and see the stars. There’s too much light here in town. You can’t see them.

“You must live pretty far from town then. Santa Fe isn’t small.”

“I think it’s about half the size of Boulder. You can get out of town and away from the lights pretty quickly. Have you been there?”

“Once.” Dakota remembered his trip there. He’d been looking for something, anything, to give him a purpose. He’d traveled to the reservation and was met with hard faces. He was a stranger and not full blood. His mother’s people hadn’t welcomed him the way he’d hoped. It had been an elder, a man who lived off of the reservation, who had taught him the little he knew about the Navajo culture. The rest he’d learned from books and the Internet. It was before he’d met Linda. Whatever he’d been looking for, it hadn’t been in Santa Fe.

“So tell me about these glowing lights around my head.”

“There are four elements: earth, fire, wind, and water. Everyone is born with an affinity or strength in one element. Most people don’t realize it consciously but they make decisions based on that strength nonetheless. For example, water people enjoy swimming and live near the water. Earth people may collect rocks or become archeologists. Air people climb mountains or sky dive.”

“What does that have to do with me?” Chaos said, taking a sip of her coffee.

“I think you’re powerful in all four elements. It’s why you have such a strong connection to nature. Maybe you were born with it or maybe it’s been developed over time. As you turned away from people and turned to nature you may have strengthened your connection. Your energy, combined with your connection to the four elements may be what’s drawing the spirits to you. There’s no doubt that you have them all around you at all times and I’ve experienced your energy first hand. It’s powerful.”

“What do you mean?”

“Do you remember at the hotel when I collapsed that first morning?” She nodded and eyed him warily. He was about to confess to using her. She probably wasn’t going to react well. “When you came over and picked me up, I noticed an instant change. It was like plugging in a battery or generator. I could get energy from you. Every time I touched you, you charged me.”

Her mouth twisted. He could tell she wanted to ask a question. “Yes,” he said. “If you’re wondering if I touched you intentionally after that to borrow energy, the answer is yes. I’m sorry. I should have asked but I didn’t think you’d believe me and I didn’t trust you.”

“And you trust me now?”

He took a deep breath. A coyote howled in the distance. A warning?

“Did you hear that?” Chaos asked.

“The coyote?”

“Yep,” he said, noticing the excitement in her voice. “It sounded close.”

“I noticed that there are prairie dogs in the field behind the house. It’s probably hunting.”

Dakota shook his head. It was an omen. The ancestors were warning him. He was going to tell Chaos he trusted her. He wanted to trust her; she’d given him no reason not to, but he couldn’t deny the omen. She was still dangerous and he’d be a fool to ignore the warnings of his ancestors. “I trust you,” he answered honestly. “But I think you’re dangerous. I just have to figure out why.”

“It’s the necklace that’s dangerous,” Sheila said from the door behind them. “Not Chaos. Sorry. You were taking too long so I came to check on you. When she’s wearing that necklace those spirits dive right in and feed off of her. It’s amazing that she’s able to function. When she doesn’t have it on she’s able to keep them at bay, on the outside of her energy field.”

“What about my dad?”

“What do you mean, dear?” Linda said. She stepped through the door to join them. “It’s cold out here.”

“Why was my dad never hurt? If the necklace is cursed and everyone around me is doomed, why wasn’t my dad hurt? I can’t remember him ever being sick, not even a cold, let alone an injury.”

“That’s an easy one,” Sheila said. “Let’s go inside where it’s warmer.”

After warming up their coffee, they all sat down at the table. Dakota watched Chaos carefully. She joined them at the table. She looked upset, sad almost. He didn’t like seeing her look like this.

“The curse excluded your dad. I mean, assuming the woman that I saw is the one who cursed the necklace, then she did so because she wanted your dad. She excluded him to protect him. Remember, the necklace wasn’t meant for you. It was meant for your mom. It was meant to tear her from the people she loved. When you started wearing the necklace, the curse transferred to you.”

“But what about the people who died because of me? Everyone dies or gets hurt around me,” Chaos said. “Not just people I love. Why would the curse, if there is a curse, why would it harm people I didn’t know or care about?”

“How many times has that happened to you, Chaos?” Linda asked. “How many times did a stranger get hurt because of you?”

Dakota watched Chaos think. He saw realization slowly creep over her face and sadness fill her eyes.

“Three times if you count Bill.”

“Every other time it has been someone you care about?”

She nodded.

“That’s just life, dear. People die. It’s a cycle of energy. The curse that causes you to lose or unintentionally injure people you love and care about, that’s something we can fix. The rest is between you and God.”

“How does she protect herself and others?” Dakota asked Linda. A little spark of hope had lit inside him. If they could figure this out, maybe the danger would be gone. “What do we do with this information?”

“I’ll teach her to protect herself from energy vampires. They’re not really vampires, dear,” she said to Chaos. “These spirits just suck the energy from you. I can teach you to block them. And we’re not done with that necklace. I think we can get rid of the curse. Can you stick around another day or two? I’d like to deal with Bill tonight and then we can focus on the necklace.”

Dakota watched her, torn. Part of him wanted her to go away, right now and never come back. The other part wanted her to stay forever.

“I can stay,” she finally answered.

He could tell there was more she wanted to say but she didn’t. Sheila, Kat, and Linda all stood. “Kat,” Linda said. “Could you help me with preparations for tonight? Sheila, I’ll go get that necklace. Maybe you can get something off of it directly. Be careful, though. Dakota, you might want to stick around for that reading. I don’t know what will happen when Sheila touches that necklace.”

Chapter Twenty-Six

No Memory

Alone again, Chaos sat in silence next to Dakota. He never left her side and while she knew it was intentional, he was doing his job, it felt nice to have him there. What they’d all said made sense if she could believe the necklace was cursed. She wasn’t sure she could take that step. Witchcraft and spells were way beyond believing in ghosts, though she couldn’t deny that something was wrong with the necklace. That little experiment had proven that. She glanced at her watch. 11:30. They still had a few hours to go. Linda wanted to wait until Bill’s favorite hour before they tried to contact him. “Should I be afraid about tonight?”