Seduction of Souls (10 page)

Knowing Bryn as well as she did
, RayeAnn dared to ask the question she dreaded the answer to.

“Bryn, you look terrified.  Would you feel better if you stayed somewhere else for a while until we clear this up?  You know I wouldn’t blame you if you did
.  This is definitely outside the boundaries of friendship.  In fact, now that I’m saying it out loud, I think it would be best if you did leave for a while.  I would feel terrible if something happened to you, and if I were in your shoes I’d be scared shitless.  Anyone have any other thoughts on this?”

“Yeah, I agree with you,
RayeAnn.  Bryn can stay at my place since Ryker’s staying here anyway.”

“We’re all adults here, Tim.  I think we all know that you two are…involved, romantically.  Bryn, is this what you want?”

“Yes.  I hate to admit it but I’m a chicken.  Ever since I heard that recording I haven’t been able to sleep.”

Now
RayeAnn moved over to Bryn and gave her a tight hug, kissing her on the cheek.  “I just want you to know I really appreciate your honesty.  I know you like to think of yourself as a tough, independent woman and you are, but this is something totally different.” 

Tears streaked down Bryn’s cheeks,
even while Tim gently wiped them away, nuzzling her neck and whispering in her ear.  She nodded in agreement then got up and walked out of the room.  Everyone looked to Tim for an explanation.

“She’s going up to pack a few things.  I’m sure she’ll be fine once she gets to my
apartment.  She feels like she’s deserting you in your time of need.  I promised her that if there was anything you needed I’d let her know immediately.”

“Thanks, Tim.” 
RayeAnn’s voice clogged in her throat as she fought back the tears she wanted to shed.  Love for Bryn filled her heart, squeezing it gently.  Ryker put his hand on her shoulder, massaging her neck. 

“All right, enough of this emotional shit.  Doesn’t anyone want to know what I have on film?”  Jarred grinned ear to ear, looking goofy and lightening the mood considerably.

“Why, yes, we would be honored to hear your report.  By all means, please continue.”  Ryker sat in Bryn’s vacated chair and rested his arm across RayeAnn’s shoulders, stroking her while Jarred prepared to speak.

“Well, I do have several anomalies on film.  I’ve blown up some still shots so you can see what I’m talking about.  On this one you can clearly see an orb here in the upstairs hallway.  By the way, this is from the other night when you two were attacked.  This next picture shows a much larger misty apparition in front of the smaller orb in the hallway.  Wild guess would make this larger one Gideon and the smaller one possibly Charity or Aunt Juliet.  That one would be a little harder to determine.  There were a few other pics of the mist moving toward the bedroom door
, but this one shows it halfway into RayeAnn’s bedroom, and yes, it’s going through the closed door, in case you were wondering.  Three minutes later I got Ryker running into her room.  I’m assuming you heard her screaming, by the looks of those scratch marks.  What this tells us is that we have at least two entities we’re dealing with, which the EVP supports as well.  I have a few other shots showing the orb at various spots in the house, other than that nothing else.  Any questions?”

This time
RayeAnn just spoke without raising her hand.  “Do the orbs and mists only show up at night, or do you have any in the daylight?”

“Mostly at night
, but there are a couple reasons for this.  One is that in daylight it’s too hard to rule out reflections and other natural light sources, at least for us mere humans.  Second, the reason many investigators do nighttime sessions is because the world is just quieter in the middle of the night and it’s easier to identify anomalies.  Orbs simply show up better at night, but that doesn’t mean they’re only around at night.”

“And evil presences aren’t always black like they show on television
?”  she clarified.

“Correct.  Sometimes, actually make that most times, they don’t show up at all
, though you still sense them there.  Have you noticed any unexplained odors anywhere in the house?”

“Honestly, I haven’t been paying attention
, but I’ll start to now that you mention it.”

“Great.  Write down the time and place
you notice an odd scent, and I’ll try to correlate it with the cameras.  We may have better luck identifying them from a scent than a visual.”

“Now that we have all this evidence what do we do about it?”  She looked to Ryker for an answer, knowing this was his area of the reports.

He stood to address everyone, rubbing the back of his neck as he spoke.

“Basically this is a two or three part process.  First thing we have to do is get rid of Gideon.  We’ll try first with a house cleansing.  This involves smudging and burning sage throughout the entire house while praying for divine intervention to rid the house of spirits.
  I’ve contacted a spirit medium who comes highly recommended by a friend of mine.  Under normal circumstances, I would do it myself, but I think in this case a psychic medium will do a better, more thorough job.”

“Once the house is cleared of the evil entity
, we’ll need some advice about how to bring Charity and Nathaniel’s souls together.  Again, probably a psychic medium will be necessary.  For now we just need to concentrate on getting Gideon out.” 

Before he could finish his statement a gale force wind moved through the dining room, sending everything on the table, including the centerpiece, flying in a tornado like whirlwind.  The wind was
so cold, everyone’s breath showed in the room as they gasped for air.

 
RayeAnn’s eyes stung and burned with the overwhelming stench of rotting flesh.  Immediately she slapped her hand over her mouth and nose.  The foul stench made her want to bring back up the pizza she’d had for dinner. Bryn was the first to half walk, half crawl from the room. With Tim right behind her.  Ryker grabbed RayeAnn’s hand and pulled her along behind him as they too staggered from the room.

P
apers wafted down to the floor, as the wind just as suddenly died down, although the smell lingered on their clothes and skin like a heavy blanket of evil clinging to them.  Chairs were overturned throughout the room and every wall hanging was tipped at an odd angle. 
Disaster area
sprang to RayeAnn’s mind.

“Umm, my guess is that Gideon doesn’t like our plan.” 
RayeAnn pushed her wildly tousled hair out of her face. 

“Fuck Gideon.  You hear me
, you bastard!  Fuck you!”  Ryker shook his fist in the air, his face an angry contortion of his normally handsome features.

“Hey
, man, you know better than that.  Don’t provoke the bastard or you’re asking for trouble.”  Fear written all over his face, Tim looked around as if expecting the whole house to cave in. 

“You’re right.  Sorry.  Just lost it for a minute there.  Let’s plan
another meeting again in a few days.  I’ll call you after I talk to the medium and get something scheduled.  Tim, take Bryn back home and do something to relax her.  Feel me, man?”

“No problem.  Actually, it’ll be my pleasure and I’m sure hers
, too.”  He strutted his stuff out of the room, calling sweetly for Bryn as he made his way to the front door.  Jarred followed closely on his heels without comment.

“Night everyone.” 
RayeAnn called out to everyone as they all walked out the door.

********

Thank goodness
RayeAnn had worked out an evening away from the house for the both of them.  She had made dinner reservations at the best restaurant in town to be followed by a hotel room in the same hotel as the restaurant.  One stop shopping for both food and sex.  A lovely tingling sensation shot right to her core at the mere thought. Finally they could be alone, now all she had to do was persuade Ryker to go.  Suddenly her mind filled with the thought of her persuading him by unbuttoning her blouse and flashing him with her breasts.  Yes, that would do nicely.

Dinner had been superb.  The restaurant was dark, quiet and private.  The food was excellent and she had high hopes for the lovemaking to follow.  Wrapping the room key in a small jewelry box had been a stroke of genius on Bryn’s part, she wished she’d thought of it.  Bryn had always been the more romantic of the two
, and now RayeAnn needed all the help she could get to pull this whole thing off.

After dessert she handed him the gift wrapped box as if it were a fragile piece of crystal.

“What’s this?”

“If you’ll open it you’ll find out.”  She was purposely being secretive, finding she enjoyed watching him squirm in his seat.  Sad but true.

He untied the ribbon while a scowl took over his face.  A huge smile lit his face the minute he realized what it was.  His comment was short but sweet.

“Excellent.  Really inspired.”  Wiggling his eyebrow vigorously
, he added. “Are you done with your dessert yet?”  Grabbing her spoon and scooping up the last of her crème anglaise, he shoved it in his mouth while he called to the waiter for the bill.

“Hey!  I was going to eat that.”

“I’ll buy you a gallon of it tomorrow.  What the hell’s taking that waiter so long?”

“Don’t worry about it, I already made arrangements for it to go on the bill for the room.  We’re free to go any
time you’re ready.  Would you like another cup of coffee?”  Teasing him now, she smiled what she hoped was a positively wicked grin. 

“No.”  He pulled her roughly out of her chair and took long strides toward the elevator.  She had to practically run to keep up.

“Hey, no fair.  I’m short.  Slow down before I break an ankle here.”

While they waited for the elevator to arrive he whispered in her ear.

“You’re short and I’m long.  Sounds like a match made in heaven.”

“We’ll see.”

They entered the elevator with two other couples.  Patiently they waited their turn as the elevator moved one level at a time, building the sexual tension between them until she thought she would explode.  She guessed Ryker felt the same way, since he was fidgeting restlessly, tapping his foot slightly to the beat of the elevator music.  A rocking tune by Barry Manilow,
Copa Cabanna.
 

When the last couple got off he waited for the doors to slowly slide shut before grabbing her hips and pulling her into his body
.  His lips met hers with passion and pure lust.  She could feel his excitement pressing against her stomach.  It took everything she had to not strip him naked right then and there. She caressed his manhood through the thin fabric of his dress pants. The doors were barely open when he grabbed her hand and squirmed out the narrow opening, almost running to their room.

With fumbling fingers Ryker slid the plastic card into the lock. 
Once, twice then a third.  After three tries RayeAnn took the key from him and succeeded on her first try.  They didn’t make it to the bedroom, not even close.  He grabbed her blouse and pulled it over her head, tossing it in the air.  His hands squeezed her breasts before she stilled them by ripping his shirt open.  Buttons flew everywhere.  She caressed his erection, moaning appreciatively at the soft, silky feel of him.  Pulling his hips to hers she met the throbbing head and rubbed it along the outside of her excited mound.  She had no patience for foreplay, she needed him inside her.  Now.

As if on command he slammed her naked body against the wall, lifting her hips and impaling her with one swift move.  In a pumping, heated frenzy
he thrust in and out of her body.   Feeling her hot core tighten around him, pumping him mercilessly, he heard her scream of pleasure before he found his release.  He held her in his arms until their breathing slowed enough for him to talk.

“Wow….wow.  Baby, that was sensational.  Do you think it will tide you over until we make it to the bedroom?”

Peering over his shoulder, she examined the situation carefully before answering.  “I’m not sure, you know it’s all the way over there.”  She pointed with her limp hand.  “Maybe we should make a quick stop on the couch.”

“I’m game if you are.”  She felt him harden, still cradled in her body while he walked the five steps necessary to reach the couch, carrying her right along with him. 
Her legs locked tightly around his waist.  Once there they loved each other again.   

He
ran the water in the large whirlpool tub that looked out over the countryside.  Sinking into the warm water caused both of them to sigh as they settled into each other’s arms, kissing and fondling each other tenderly.  His hand caressed and tugged her nipple while she ran her fingertips up and down his thigh.  The silky waters steam rose and fogged the windows.  RayeAnn rolled over and lay on his chest while her breasts pressed against his chest.  The hair on his chest caused her nipples to harden into hard pebbles.  He cupped her butt and pulled her closer and kissed her slowly.  The sound of the whirlpool jets drowned out all other sounds.

“Do you think it was like this for Charity and Nathaniel?  Like they were destined for each other and no one could stop them?”