Revenant (The Midnight Society #3) (15 page)

Chapter Twenty-Six

Aria

Shadow looked like the worst kind of criminal, sentenced to die via electric chair. His wrists were bound to the arms of a heavy wooden chair in his study, while probes were secured around the temples of his head.

He was unconscious as his breaths were heavy and shallow. He was lost in a dream.

“We’re ready,” The bald man said.

“We’re ready for what?” I asked. I didn’t like being kept in the dark.

Leah sighed. “Shadow killed my brother, Lucien,” she stated.

“I saw the video. He was brainwashed,” I said.

Lincoln was stunned by the news. “Shadow killed Lucien?”

It seemed that every other sentence out of our mouths was filled with some new bombshell that altered the landscape of our lives. We were all trapped in some deranged soap opera—the Young and the Reckless.

“There’s a monster living inside Shadow,” Leah said. “We’re going to have to find out what releases the beast from its cage and then exorcise it completely out of his head.”

“That’s fair,” Lincoln said turning to the bald man. “And you’re the head doctor I suppose?”

“Something of the sorts,” he said as he extended his hand. “Abel Gunn. I work with the CIA in the arts of mind manipulation and memory extraction. A glorified hypnotist, if you will.”

“He’s also my mentor and direct superior,” Leah said. “If anyone knows how to help Shadow, it’ll be Abel.”

I leaned towards Lincoln. “Do you trust this woman, Leah?”

Lincoln nodded. “Known her since I first stepped foot in the Midnight Society. She’s alright. A much better human being than her brother was.”

I watched as she brushed the hair back from Shadow’s forehead affectionately. I wanted to choke the bitch. “Are you sure about that?”

“Don’t worry, whatever was between them is history,” Lincoln said. “Look, they’re about to begin.”

“We’re going to dive into Shadow’s sub consciousness,” Leah explained. “Currently he’s in a deep state of sleep, giving us perfect access into his psyche.”

“Shadow can you tell me where you are right now?” Abel whispered. His voice was deep and soothing, hypnotic almost.

Shadow remained silent.

“Shadow, listen to the sound of my voice. Can you tell me where you are right now?”

This time he responded. “In a house.”

“That’s good Shadow,” Abel said. “That’s good. Tell me about this house.”

“It’s the one I grew up in; the one where my parents were murdered—the mansion.”

“Are you alone in the mansion?”

Shadow shook his head.

“Who’s there with you?” Abel continued.

“The dead are all here with me.”

I felt icicles run up the length of my spine.

“Who are they?” Abel asked.

Shadow licked his lips. His breaths were getting heavier.

“My father and mother, Abraham, James, Donald, Brevin, Lucian, and Elena. They’re all here. The dead are all here.”

Abel wiped a bead of sweat off his brow. “And what are they doing right now?”

“They’re sitting at the dining room table, staring at me. Their eyes are completely black, like pools of oil.”

“This is some seriously spooky shit,” Lincoln muttered.

“Isadora did something similar to me, back in New Orleans,” I said. “She got into my head and tore out the demons that were weighing me down. She could have done this for Shadow as well.”

Lincoln shook his head. “Isadora mentioned multiple personalities were beyond her capabilities. Shadow also has big issues with trust. If his head’s broken, he’d want someone he could trust poking around in there. He still loves Leah…”

I scowled.

“…Not in that sense though,” Lincoln said, quickly trying to recover from his statement. “It’s the same type of love you and your friend Justin had.”

My heart choked a little at the mention of Justin’s name. I missed him so much. What I wouldn’t give to hear his laughter again or talk to him about silly things of inconsequential matters. Life was so simple back then.

“Shadow, there’s a monster hiding in this house. I need you to find that monster. I think the dead might know where he is. Can you ask them?” Abel said firmly.

Shadow nodded. “Mom, dad? Do you know where the monster is?”

There was a moment of long pause.

“What did they say?” Abel asked.

“They said that the monster is standing right before them.”

That drew an immediate frown from Abel. He turned to Leah and whispered something into her ear, which caused her to grimace as well.

“What’s going on here? What’s with all the whispers?” I asked aloud.

Leah turned to me and placed one finger against her lips. “Quiet,” she silently mouthed.

Ugh, of all the nerve.

Lincoln knew I was pissed. “Easy does it,” he whispered to me. “Just let them do their thing. Afterword I give you full permission to run Leah through a foul-mouthed verbal gauntlet.”

I was surprised. “I thought you and Leah were friends.”

Lincoln shrugged. “We were, yes. But I like you better.”

I smiled. ‘Thanks.”

“Shadow,” Abel continued. “I want you to walk away from the dead people at the table. They won’t help you.”

“They’re all smiling at me,” Shadow said. Despite the terrifying imagery in my head, Shadow seemed unfazed by the ghosts he was facing deep within himself.

“They’re not there to help you,” Abel said. “They were placed there by the monster inside of you. You need to walk away from them.”

Shadow shook his head. “They’re surrounding me. I can’t get away.”

Abel‘s voice suddenly took on a more urgent tone. “You must, Shadow. Push past them.”

Shadow grunted. “They’re so strong. Mom, dad, it’s me. Let me pass.”

“He needs an anchor,” Abel announced aloud. “The brainwashing is worse than I expected. This second personality is going to completely consume him. I need someone he cares about…an anchoring voice to guide him. My voice alone won’t do it.”

Lincoln was quick to speak. “Hey Shadow, get out of there man.”

“Lincoln, you’re a cocksucker,” Shadow replied, subconsciously.

“Perhaps someone else wants to try?” Abel suggested.

I was about to say something, but Leah beat me to the punch.

She spoke to him sweetly. “Shadow, it’s me, Leah. Listen to my voice. Let me guide you. I’m right there with you in that house. Find me.”

Oh, there was absolutely no way that was happening under my watch.

“Shadow, don’t listen to that hussy. It’s me, Aria, the one you love. Come find me instead.”

The heated death-gaze Leah directed at me could have melted the polar ice caps.

Abel readjusted his glasses. “Ladies, this is far from counterproductive. I need his mind to be on stable ground.”

“I agree,” Leah said, “Which is why Aria needs to leave this to the professionals.”

“Professional what? Reject specialist? Stop pervading my man’s head with your mind-fuckery and leave this task to the person he cares about most: me.”

Shadow’s faced turned into a grimace. “They’re all over me. Their hands…they’re like blocks of ice. I have to get out of here.”

“Shadow, find my voice,” I cried as I ran by his side and took his left hand in mine. “I’m there with you.”

“Aria?” Shadow asked, his voice suddenly filled with hope. His eyelids fluttered. “Where are you?”

“Pick a place in the mansion where he can find you,” Abel whispered into my ear.

I nodded.

“I’m sitting at the Heintzman grand piano, in the middle of the foyer,” I said.

“Are you playing?” Shadow asked.

“Yes.”

“I can’t hear any music.”

I turned to Abel and furrowed my brow.

“He just needs to think he’s hearing the music. Very much like how songs get stuck in our heads. Describe the music to him and naturally his mind should cling onto a melody and draw him out of the situation he’s currently in.”

“Shadow, you remember that song I wrote for you?”

He nodded. “You named it, ‘Shadow’s out of his fucking mind.’”

I did, didn’t I? That was after I just found out that Shadow had shoved me into one of the council seats of the Midnight Society—Abraham’s seat shortly after he died.

“I’m playing that song right now,” I said. “Follow the sounds of the music. Remember the melody, Shadow. It’s a dark song, with flavors of lightness and brevity mixed in. Can you hear it?”

“I can,” Shadow said. “The song was meant for me. I’ll always remember it.”

“Find me.”

Abel, who had been monitoring Shadow’s heart rate the entire time nodded. “He’s slowly stabilizing again. Good work.”

I couldn’t resist shooting Leah an ‘up yours bitch’ look. “Thanks Abel. I guess we didn’t need a professional after all, just someone who Shadow loved.”

Leah rolled her eyes and walked over to a lounge chair and took a seat. “So what’s next, Abel?” she asked.

“The first step was to stabilize his mind from whatever failsafe his original brainwashing had in place. It looks like Aria has succeeded in drawing him away from that restricted access area. Once we have him on neutral ground again, we dig deeper into his mind. We need to find out what the trigger is that transforms him from good Shadow to bad Shadow.”

I suddenly felt the muscles in Shadow’s hand tense up. “Aria, I’m at the Heintzman piano. I don’t see you though. The music is gone.”

“I’m right there Shadow,” I said. “I’m wearing that black outfit of mine that you love so much.”

“You shouldn’t be a physical manifestation for him to see if you’re his spiritual guide,” Abel said to me.

“Never mind, I’m not there, Shadow. I am, but you can’t see me. I have some cloaking force field on.”

Shadow frowned. “Cloaking force field?”

Leah smirked. “Nice one. That’s why we use professionals.”

“I’d like a cloaking force field,” I heard Lincoln whisper from behind me.

“Enough with the force fields,” Abel muttered under his breath. “Tell Shadow to go somewhere in the house where he feels at most peace with himself.”

I nodded. “Shadow, find that special place of yours in the mansion. Go to the place where you feel the most calm.”

“The stone bench beneath the oak tree,” he whispered. “The place where I first took you to in the gardens of the mansion, after I selected you during the ceremony.”

“That works, Shadow. That works. Let’s boogie.”

Leah shook her head and laughed. “I guess Shadow’s taste in women devolved from sophisticated and refined to…whatever it is you are.”

“No, I think Shadow’s taste in women evolved from prude to fun.”

“Ladies, please.” Abel scolded us like we were ten year old girls.

I focused my attention back on Shadow. The muscles on his face seemed more relaxed now.

“You there, Shadow?”

“I’m there.” He said it in a way that told me he was relaxed which, in turn, made me relax as well.

Abel nodded. “Now comes the tricky part.”

“What?” I asked surprised. “Trying to free him from soul-sucking versions of his loved ones wasn’t the tricky part?”

“I’m afraid not,” Abel said. “To find the root of it all, we need to dig deep. We’ll need to send him down one further level of his consciousness. If we’re not careful here, we can do a lot of permanent damage to his mind.”

Leah sat up in her seat. I read the look of concern on her face. “Aria,” she began. “In all seriousness, can you handle this? If not, let me take over. This is Shadow’s life we’re talking about.”

She was right. The stakes were high, especially when the life I was responsible for was not my own. I reflected on all the shit I’ve been through over the past couple of months: countless firefights, assassination attempts, assisting in the destruction of the Crow brothers, the death of my best friend, a wedding massacre, devising an epic jailbreak, getting shot by a tranquilizer while thinking both Shadow and I were certified goner, and now this.

“I can handle it,” I said. “Compared to everything else, this is a walk in the park.”

“The bitch has stones.” Leah said it almost in a way that came off like a compliment.

“The biggest stones,” I agreed.

For the next five minutes, Abel gave me a run down on what I needed to do. The entire time, I wasn’t thrilled by what he was suggesting. He wanted me to tear open Shadow’s old wounds and search around there for wherever this ‘monster’ of his was hiding.

“I don’t like it,” I finally said.

“None of us do, Aria,” Leah said. “But it needs to be done. Otherwise Shadow is a threat not only to himself but to us all.”

I took a deep breath and agreed.

“Let’s get at it then.” I tightened my grip on Shadow’s hand. “Shadow, I need you to go back to the day when you discovered your parents’ murder.”