Ghost Island (17 page)

We stepped inside, and I reached for the door. As I started to close it, the shadow I had spotted earlier moved, and I realized someone was standing just a few feet away from us.
Probably Emily or one of her new friends.

“Now that’s scary,” I said.

“Ms. Gates? She’s only a teacher. And for right now, at least, she doesn’t have that much control over your life.”

“No, that.”
I pointed as the shape drew nearer.

“Don’t be scared. The wind has died down. We might really be able to actually get out of here soon.”

I realized that Johnny didn’t see the shadow moving closer to our sliding glass door.

I was the only one seeing it.

And the shadow was Aaron.

CHAPTER 32

Ms. Gates was asleep on the sofa in the living room just a few feet away from us. Her head rested on the padded arm, and her lips were partially open as she breathed in and out. Under the inf
lu
ence of one of her pills, I hoped, and was glad I still had two more. Now if Grace would just take hers. I considered stopping by her room to find out, but I knew that seeing me would only drive her farther away.

“She looks out for the night.” Johnny glanced across the room at Ms. Gates then let his gaze linger on me. “Can you believe our
lu
ck?”

“Oh, yeah, super
lu
cky, that’s us,” I said.

Then I stepped back and stared at the shadow in the glass again. Maybe I’d been wrong. Maybe it was just the distorted shape of a tree.

“Are you okay?”

“Sorry, yes. At least she won’t try to stop me from going back out.”

“She won’t,” he said, “but I sure will.”

“Don’t worry. I won’t be gone long.” I found the two remaining pills in my pocket and handed both of them to him. “These are the last of them, but we have the tea for tomorrow night, and after that, maybe we really will be out of here.”

He shoved them into his jacket without breaking eye contact. “What’s wrong,
Livia
?”

“I just need to check on something,” I told him. “Go make sure Charles is okay. We’re so close now that we can’t take any chances.”

He didn’t budge. “I know you’re mad about what I said, but I was just trying to protect you from Aaron.”

“I don’t need protecting, especially not from him.”

“We all do,” he said. “That’s the only reason I risked going back to the casino.
For you.
To find out whatever I could.”

“Promise me you won’t do it again.”

“That depends.” He pulled me closer. “You know you owe me, don’t you?”

“For what?”

“Staying sober.”
He blew the words into my ears. “That was our deal. I haven’t had a drink or even wanted to. You promised.”

“I did promise,” I said.

But I didn’t want to kiss him.

“What’s wrong?”

“I can’t do this, Johnny, and I shouldn’t have made you think otherwise.”

Someone giggled from behind us. Emily and the girls stood close together, still holding their coffee cups.

“Do you have a problem?” I asked, as they rushed away.

All of them but Emily.

“You’re the one with the problem,” she said.

“Maybe not,” I told her. “The storm is moving on.”

“Good. I’m looking forward to returning home.” Her smile was angelic, and with that streaked blond hair and those innocent eyes, she might be able to pull off her masquerade when she returned to the real Emily’s family.

“Just for the record,” I said, “who was she?”

“She?”

“The girl you replaced.”

She glanced over at Johnny then met my gaze with an amused expression, as if I’d just asked her something ridiculous.

“Quite boring, if you must know. She wanted to be a CPA like her father. I must tell you that her career plans are soon about to change.”

“To what?”

“I haven’t decided yet.
Cabaret singer, perhaps?”

“You might want to research what century you’re in,” I said. “Once we’re out of here, I’m going to make sure your so-called family knows what happened to their daughter.”

“And you’re so very credible, are you not?” Her high-pitched laughter failed to mask the fact that my threat had hit home.

Ms. Gates stirred on the sofa.

“Quiet,” I whispered.

“Afraid of the teacher?”
Emily asked. Then to Johnny, “Meet us in my room. We’re doing Tarot tonight.
It’s
great fun, and it can show you exciting things about the future.”

“Get lost,” he said.

He glanced back at me again then headed down the hall.

“He’s certainly become unpleasant. I hope you’re happy.” Emily gave me a parting look of disdain and hurried after him. “Johnny, wait.”

Ms. Gates continued to sleep, oblivious to what was going on. Now I could go back outside. Not a good idea. But only one step out the door, right? I could even hold onto the handle. It wasn’t as if I were going to venture far from the hotel or anything.

I slid the door open, just a tiny slice, barely wide enough for me to slip through.

“Aaron?” I whispered.

A warm hand grabbed mine and pulled me the rest of the way through the door, into the shadow.

“I’m here.”

Aaron stood before me, still holding my hand. He looked like the real Aaron again, blond, tan and warm, not the golden god of my dream.

“I knew it was you,” I said.

“He tried to kiss you.”

“Johnny?” My face burned.
Best to just tell the truth.
“He did try, but I didn’t let him. I don’t want anyone but you.”

“You knew I was out here?”

“I saw you.”

“I tried to hide until I could get you alone. He practically trashed the top floor of the casino last night. It was as if he was drunk again or out of his mind. I tried to reason with him, and he acted like he couldn’t hear me.”

“He might have been out of it because of the pill he took.”

“What kind of pill turns you into a madman?”

I stepped back toward the door. “I’m not sure, but he did take something to make him sleep. He’s not violent.”

“Don’t defend him. The guy was wide awake, and what he did was wrong. I know he’s into you, but that’s no excuse for trashing someone else’s property. You’ve got to stay away from him.”

“That’s a little difficult since we’re both stuck in this hotel until the storm passes.”

“You don’t have to stay here.” He pulled me into his arms. “Come with me.”

“I’m not going to the casino, Aaron. I told you that.”

“Why not?
Peggy helped me clean up the mess he left.”

“I’m not the one who made the mess.” Johnny slid shut the glass door behind him and marched up to Aaron. “And you know it, you freak.”

Despite the soft rainfall, the air felt still and close. For a moment, I was afraid they were going to fight, but instead, they glared at each other, both of them the same height, one dark, one blond, and both growing angrier by the moment.

“You destroyed the room,” Aaron said. “That’s insane.”

“All that’s insane is how that place looked. It happened over years, not just in the week we’ve been here.”

“You’re lying to cover what you did.”

“You’re the liar.” Johnny yanked Aaron’s hand from my arm. “Where the hell did you come from? You live in the casino, in a room covered in cobwebs.”

“Wrong. You live in one of the most haunted hotels on the island. I’m trapped here just like you are.” He moved closer to me, and I leaned against him.

Even in the dim light, the rage in Johnny’s face was as visible as the red f
lu
sh of his cheeks.

“Is that what you want,
Livia
?” he said. “Is he...”

I nodded and gazed into Aaron’s eyes. “He’s what I want.”

“If you stay with him, you’re going to be destroyed. You know that, don’t you?”

“Just a minute,” Aaron drew me closer. “I’m as real as you are, and I love her more than you ever could.”

“Love?”
Johnny seemed to be searching for a comeback. “All you do is show up in her dreams.”

“Glad to hear that.” Aaron shot him an arrogant grin. “But this isn’t a dream, is it?”

“Just because you have more power than the others doesn’t change what you are,” Johnny said. “Every one of us has had dreams about the casino. I thought I saw a dead friend. Charles saw a gambler who was going to make him rich. Grace dreamed about her sister. If we had stayed in those dreams, we would be destroyed by now.”

“Very interesting.”
Aaron nudged me. “Your friend was a guy?” he asked Johnny.

“What difference does that make?”

My heart beat faster, and I had a good idea where Aaron was going with this.

“Because,” I told Johnny. “The thing that wanted to take you over was male. So was Benjamin, the guy who wanted Charles and ended up taking Mr. Freeman. Caitlin wanted Grace.
Male to male.
Female to female.
Those things can only replace someone of the same sex.”

Aaron slipped his arms around me. The warmth of his hand radiated along my arm.

“Hey, I’m as worried as you are,” he told Johnny, “but I’m not the enemy. I’m one of you. If I was a ghoul who wanted someone’s soul, I’d go after one of you guys, not her.”

“I don’t believe that for a minute.” Johnny shoved his hands in his pocket as if trying to keep them under control. “You’re some kind of bait. That’s all any of you dream people are. I know because I’ve been there. I thought Matt was real, just the way
Livia
thinks you are.”

“I don’t know who Matt is or was. All I know is I’m here.” He ran his hand down my arm. “
Livia
knows it too, and you and I are still talking because?”

“Don’t
because
me,” Johnny said. “I’m not going to let you take her.”

“I won’t do anything she doesn’t want me to.”

“Johnny, I told you,” I began.

“And I told you that he’s bait, just like the rest of them.”

“And what are you?” Aaron asked. “What’s your excuse for destroying my room?”

“He has a good point,” I said.

For the first time since we had met, Johnny had no answer.

“See you later,” I told him.

“Wait.” His voice was flat, and his eyes were glassy, the way they had been when he talked about Matt. “Okay, maybe I did go a little crazy in there. But don’t you understand,
Livia
? I freaked because the room—his room—looked as ancient as that catamaran in Two Harbors.”

“So you did trash it?” I asked.

“I threw a chair.”

“Through the window.”
Aaron squeezed my hand. “Have you heard enough?”

“Don’t go with him,” Johnny said.

“We aren’t leaving the hotel grounds.” I let go of Aaron and moved close to him, looked into his eyes. “It’s okay. We just want some time alone.”

“Fine.”

He glared at me, then headed back inside, and slammed the door behind him.

“Finally,” Aaron said, and held out his arms.

I walked over and just pressed my head against his chest.

CHAPTER 33

Aaron was real. He smelled, looked, and felt real. And now even Johnny had seen him. I hadn’t made him up. He wasn’t one of the dream people. Although his hair was still spiked, it was soft to my touch, wet from the raindrops. Even in the shadows, his eyes were hazel.

I couldn’t imagine what had caused Johnny to trash Aaron’s room.
Maybe the sleeping pill.
Maybe a dream.
Maybe
jealousy,
or maybe just the pressure that seemed to bear down on all of us like a lid on a boiling pot now that we knew we might actually survive the storm and the nightmare we’d been living.

We sat on the hotel balcony watching the rain fall. Holding Aaron’s hand, I felt safer than I had for many years.
Exhausted, yes.
And frightened.
But for that moment, safe and something close to content. It was the way I had once felt as a child, sitting on my mother’s lap in front of our fireplace, watching the figures in the flames.

“What are you thinking about?” he asked. “Johnny, I’ll bet.”

“He just isn’t the type to throw a chair through a window.”

“He did worse than that.” His lips were tight, and I could see the anger there. “He’s jealous of us. I wish you wouldn’t encourage him.”

“I haven’t,” I said, but knew he was at least somewhat right. “I care about him, but not in the same way I care about you.”

“Not like this?” He stood and reached out to me.

“No.” I looked into his eyes, feeling the pull. “Not even close.”

He lowered his lips to mine, and in that kiss, I found everything I had ever needed.

“I love you.”

“I love you too, Aaron.” I wrapped my arms around his neck. “Daniel said the storm would pass in a couple of days.”

“He told me that too.” He lifted my chin, smiled into my eyes. “Let’s stay together every minute until then.”

“I’ll have to sneak you into my room.”

“It would be easier if you stayed with me.”

“In the casino?”

“Why not?
Peggy fixed up a room for you. It’s not as if we’d be together all night.” He gazed into my eyes. “Not unless you want to be.”

“I’m afraid of the casino. It’s not safe.”

“That’s what Johnny wants you to think.” He stepped back from me. “He doesn’t want you at the casino because he knows how we feel about each other.”

“If you care about me, you shouldn’t want me there either,” I said. “Stay here with me instead. Please.”

“You do want to be with me, don’t you?”

“More than anything.”

“
Livia
.”
Ms.
Gates’s
voice came from the patio. “Where are you?”

“Coming,” I said, in a voice too phony and upbeat to be anywhere close to believable.

“Now.
Do you have any idea how late it is?”

“Sorry,” I whispered to Aaron.

“Meet me there,” he said. “Don’t stay here another night.”

“
Livia
!”
Ms.
Gates’s
voice came closer. She stood just a few feet from me now.

I hurried toward her, hoping she wouldn’t see Aaron.

“I’m here.”

“
Livia
, this is no time for games. You must know that.”

Her eyes were weary, and the rain and sleep had flattened her ponytail so that it looked like a limp rope.

I forced a smile and tried to divert her attention from where Aaron was standing. If she found out I was with another guy, I didn’t know what she’d do.

“I’m not playing games,” I told her.

“Then perhaps you can explain why you stole my meds.”

We stood face-to-face now, and I knew there was no point in lying to her.

“Who told you? Emily?”

“That doesn’t matter.” She pointed at the open door. “Go inside, please. There’s no reason to be out in this weather if we don’t have to.”

“I took the pills so that we could sleep without dreaming,” I said and didn’t move. “I’m sorry. I just didn’t know what else to do.”

“Come on. We’ve discussed this before. On some level, we know when we’re in a dream. You can end it any time.”

“Not these dreams,” I said, but wondered if she were right.

“Give them to me.”

“Please.”

“You took them from me, without my permission. If it got out that I let kids have my medication, do you know the kind of trouble I’d be in? I could lose my job.”

“I’d explain,” I said. “I’d tell them that you didn’t know anything about it.”

She put out her hand. “Come on.”

“I don’t have any, honest,” I said. “Grace took the last one.”

“No she didn’t.” Ms. Gates gave me a sad smile. “Grace is so upset by what’s been happening that she doesn’t know what to do. She attacked one of the girls tonight for no reason. The pill fell out of her jacket, and she admitted you had given it to her.”

So Grace was without protection. We both were. I needed to get to my room, where the tea was, and then I had to get to Grace as soon as possible. My lids were so heavy that I could have fallen asleep where I stood.

“I’ll make it up to you when we get back,” I said.

If we got back.

“There’s no point in discussing that right now.” She followed me inside, slid the door shut, and locked it. “Now go to your room and stay there until morning. No more side trips, okay? No more stealing.”

I sneaked a look outside, but all I saw were the shadows of the trees.

“What are you waiting for?” she said.

“Nothing.”
I forced myself away from the glass and headed toward the hall.

The room was dark with only the dim light from the window.
Storm light.
The wind and rain were not about to leave quietly. It was as if they had come inside, and then I realized why. My window was open. Stumbling in the darkness, I reached for the lantern inside the door. It was just where I had left it. Heart pounding, I flicked it on.

Three girls sat on my bed holding cards. They glanced up at me as if trying to figure out what I was doing there.

I gasped, and then realized that Emily stood beside me. Her usually sexy blond hair looked hammered by the rain. So did her pink sweater. She closed the door and locked it.

“I hope you don’t mind that we moved our card game in here,” she said, blocking my way.

“Get out,” I told her. “I’m calling Ms. Gates.”

“She’ll be sleeping soundly soon.” Emily’s face twisted in the grotesque light, and I could tell she had actually been more comfortable in the darkness. They all had been.

“I told you to get out of here.”

I was afraid, but not of her. The jar of tea sat on the dresser beside the bed. I needed to grab it and find Grace. Emily wasn’t strong enough to stop me, and the girls were too hesitant and timid. I thought of them sitting on that lavender comforter in the dark holding their cards and knew I would never sleep in this bed again.

“We won’t leave until you do.” Emily seemed to be reciting words with no idea of their meaning. “Tonight you will dream.”

“If you think I’d stay in this room now, you’re out of your mind.” I moved closer to the bed where the other girls sat.

“Oh, you’ll stay. You’ll sleep.” She yawned, and I fought the impulse to do the same.

“Then what?
You go back and make your report to whatever is in the casino.”

“We can’t go back. But you can.” She motioned to the others. “Girls, we’re ready.”

They rose from the bed and pulled back the covers. Once they had finished, they gathered in the corner in their ballerina poses again.

“You must be very tired,
Livia
.” Emily’s voice was soft, almost hypnotic.

“Tired of you.”

I made my move. Grabbed the tea, pushed her away and yanked the door open. Just then, I came face-to-face with Johnny in the hall.

“Thank goodness,” I said, and c
lu
tched his arm. “You won’t believe what they’re trying to pull now.”

I looked into his eyes and realized that he hadn’t heard anything I had said.

“Hurry,” Emily told him. “Matt is waiting for you. We need your help with this one.”

He took the glass container from my hand and went inside the room as if sleep walking.

“Johnny, no,” I shouted, but he was already pitching the tea through the open window. I could see it blowing away.

Before I could think about what I was doing, I ran to him and slapped him across the face.

Emily screamed.

I slapped him again.

“What?” His hand jerked to his cheek.

“Wake up,” I told him.
“Find Charles.
Get out of here before
they
...”

My speech slowed and strained. In slow motion, I saw the look of shock on his face and heard his garbled words. Then I felt myself begin to slide, as if on an elevator, p
lu
mmeting down.