The Ghosts of Ravencrest (The Ravencrest Saga Book 1) (43 page)

She looked at him, then down at the little ghost. “You mean Prudence did it?”

Grant’s intense gaze trapped her. “No, Belinda. It was you. All you.”

She didn’t believe it. “Maybe it was like when someone lifts a car off a child …”

“In a way, it is, Belinda. But it’s so much more.”

“I-”

My parents, they’re outside.
Prudence pointed at the carved door.
 

“Let’s reunite you with them.” The kindness in Grant’s eyes nearly brought Belinda to tears.

“But how do we get her over the threshold?” she asked, her voice dry and quaking.

“You can touch her, Belinda. That’s why you are the one who can reunite them. Your gift is … well; I’ve never witnessed such a thing. Pick her up and carry her through the doorway.”

Prudence raised her arms to Belinda and she scooped the girl up. She pulsed with life and seemed to weigh as much as a living child. “Let’s go.”

They approached the door, then Grant stepped ahead and opened it for them. The gray dawn barely showed through the windows as Belinda carried Prudence Manning out of the east wing.

There, at the threshold, were Alice and Thomas Manning, both smiling, she in the beautiful red ball gown from the portrait, he in pale breeches and an olive topcoat. Prudence twisted in Belinda’s arms.

Mama! Papa!
She reached for them.

Alice stepped forward and Belinda gave Prudence over to her. Thomas joined them and embraced his family. For just an instant, a shadow touched them, then fled as quickly as it had come. Belinda glanced at Grant beside her. His mouth was slightly open and his eyes sparkled with tears of joy. Belinda wiped her own away.

They watched the spirits embrace, listened as they spoke to one another, then Thomas looked directly into Belinda’s eyes.
We are forever in your debt. We thank you for returning our daughter to us.

You are truly an angel,
Alice said.
And you as well, Sir Knight.

Grant blushed. “It was nothing.”

It is everything to us,
Thomas said.
My very great-grandson is fortunate indeed to have you in his service.
His eyes turned to Belinda.
Keep Eric safe. Love him. See to it that his children are never victims of the Witch.

“I will,” Belinda began, but then the trio of spirits faded away as the first ray of sunlight shot into the great hall beyond.
 

Goodbye, Belinda …

“Goodbye, Prudence.”  She looked at Grant, suddenly exhausted. “I could sleep for a week.”

“I’ll make sure you’re not disturbed.” Grant put his arms around her and held her close. “You are a very special young woman, Belinda.”

“But who am I? I don’t understand.”

“Nor do I, but we’ll find answers in time.”

***

She’s out! The little bitch is out!
Cordelia sat up in bed, fuming, furious, knowing the governess had freed the child.
She’ll pay dearly for this.
Cordelia Heller tried to focus on the anger but a rare emotion interrupted. Fear.
 

***

The Harlequin sat up in near darkness and looked around in the dim morning light that struggled through the filthy stained-glass window outside the door with the cross.

After eating the persimmon, he’d fallen asleep and dreamed dreams - not nightmares - of gore and murder, full of glaring nuns and screaming, spasming children and dying infants. There were men missing legs and arms and eyes, covered in tapestries of scars. They screamed and cried, full of pain. And there was fire and the aroma of human flesh burning.
 

A new hunger overcame him. He raised his head and sniffed the air.
Flesh.
He wanted flesh.
 

He scurried from the room as memories pelted his twisted brain.
A doctor.
Yes, he had been a doctor. He paused, looking down at himself. His body was compacted, his arms short and strange, his long graceful fingers now fat and stubby.
And
I was handsome once. My hair was auburn, my eyes green.
Reaching up to feel his face, he realized it, like his body, had been deformed.
By the witch.
His hunger temporarily forgotten, he went in search of his own reflection.
 

Within the old chapel, he swiped a hand across the dusty surface of the red stained glass and stared into it. The distorted image showed him little except two glossy black eyes staring back.
The doctor is dead.
Anger buzzed in his nerve endings. Then his hunger returned, spiking, demanding satisfaction.
Flesh ...
Belinda ...

His stomach growled. He needed to eat.
 

Epilogue: The Next Night

Beneath the earth, something stirred. It had no need of breath, but it was hungry. Clutching, clawing with infinite patience, it began to work its way toward the moonlight. Sensing the night, it dug steadily, its fingers inching, wormlike, toward the surface, toward sustenance.

About the Authors

Tamara Thorne's
first novel was published in 1991, and since then she has written many more, including international bestsellers
Haunted, Bad Things, Moonfall,
Eternity
and
The Sorority
. A lifelong lover of ghost stories, she is currently working on several collaborations with Alistair Cross as well as an upcoming solo novel. Learn more about her at:
http://tamarathorne.com

Alistair Cross
grew up on horror novels and scary movies, and by the age of eight, began writing his own stories. First published by Damnation Books in 2012, he has since co-authored
The Cliffhouse Haunting
with Tamara Thorne and is working on several other projects. His debut solo novel,
The Crimson Corset,
an Amazon bestseller,
is available now. Find out more about him at:
http://alistaircross.com

I
n collaboration
, Thorne and Cross are currently writing several novels, including the next volume in the continuing series,
The Ravencrest Saga
. Their first novel,
The Cliffhouse Haunting,
was an immediate bestseller. Together, they also host the horror-themed radio show
Thorne & Cross: Haunted Nights LIVE!
which has featured such guests as Laurell K. Hamilton, Christopher Moore, Chelsea Quinn Yarbro, Charlaine Harris, and Christopher Rice. Thorne and Cross are hard at work on several upcoming collaborations, including a sequel to Tamara’s
Candle Bay
, which will feature plenty of vampy action as the Darlings and Julian Valentyn are joined on a road trip to Eternity with Michael and Winter from Alistair’s The Crimson Corset. It’s going to be a harrowing ride!

Thorne & Cross will Haunt You!

The Cliffhouse Haunting

When the Blue Lady Walks...

Since 1887, Cliffhouse Lodge has been famous for its luxurious accommodations, fine dining … and its ghosts. Overlooking Blue Lady Lake, nestled among tall pines, Cliffhouse has just been renovated by its owners, Teddy and Adam Bellamy, and their daughter, Sara.

Cliffhouse has not always been a place of rest and respite, though. Over the years it has served many vices, from rum-running to prostitution - and although the cat houses have been replaced by a miniature golf course and carousel, Cliffhouse retains its dark history; darkest during the Roaring Twenties, when a serial killer called the Bodice Ripper terrorized the town, and a phantom, the Blue Lady, was said to walk when murder was imminent.

Death Walks With Her...

Now, there’s a new killer on the loose, and the Blue Lady sightings have returned. The Bellamys are losing maids, and guests are being tormented by disembodied whispers, wet phantom footprints, and the blood-chilling shrieks of mad laughter that echo through the halls of Cliffhouse in the dead of night.

The little mountain town of Cliffside is the perfect hunting ground for a serial killer… and the Blue Lady. Police Chief Jackson Ballou has bodies piling up, and between the murders and the mysteries, he can hardly pursue his romance with Polly Owen. And Sara Bellamy may lose her true love before they even have their first kiss.

THE CLIFFHOUSE HAUNTING is available now at
Amazon.
 

Now Available from Alistair Cross!

The Crimson Corset

Welcome to Crimson Cove

Sheltered by ancient redwoods, nestled in mountains overlooking the California coast, the cozy village of Crimson Cove has it all: sophisticated retreats, fine dining, a beautiful lake, and a notorious nightclub, The Crimson Corset. It seems like a perfect place to relax and get close to nature. But not everything in Crimson Cove is natural.

When Cade Colter moves to town to live with his older brother, he expects it to be peaceful to the point of boredom. But he quickly learns that after the sun sets and the fog rolls in, the little tourist town takes on a whole new kind of life - and death.

Darkness at the Edge of Town

Renowned for its wild parties and history of debauchery, The Crimson Corset looms on the edge of town, inviting patrons to sate their most depraved desires and slake their darkest thirsts. Proprietor Gretchen VanTreese has waited centuries to annihilate the Old World vampires on the other side of town and create a new race - a race that she alone will rule. When she realizes Cade Colter has the key that will unlock her plan, she begins laying an elaborate trap that will put everyone around him in mortal danger.
 

Blood Wars

The streets are running red with blood, and as violence and murder ravage the night, Cade must face the darkest forces inside himself, perhaps even abandon his own humanity, in order to protect what he loves.

THE CRIMSON CORSET is available now at
Amazon.

COMING THIS WINTER

From Thorne & Cross

MOTHER

A Girl’s Worst Nightmare is her Mother

Priscilla Martin. She’s the diva of Morning Glory Circle and a driving force in the quaint California town of Snapdragon. Overseer of garage sales and neighborhood Christmas decorations, she is widely admired. But few people know the real woman behind the perfectly coiffed hair and Opium perfume.

Family is Forever. And Ever and Ever

Nothing escapes Prissy’s watchful eye, nothing that is, except her son, who committed suicide many years ago, and her daughter, Claire, who left home more than a decade past and hasn’t spoken to her since. But now, Priscilla’s daughter and son-in-law have fallen on hard times. Expecting their first child, the couple is forced to move back … And Prissy is there to welcome them home with open arms … and to reclaim her shattered family.

Home is Where the Terror Is

Jason Holbrook loves his wife. He’s heard Claire’s stories about Priscilla, but now it seems Mother has mended her ways, and as he uncovers a cache of vile family secrets, he begins to wonder who the real monster is. Lives are in danger - and Jason must face a horrifying truth … a truth that may destroy him … and will forever change his definition of “Mother.”

COMING SOON

Grandma’s Rack

By Tamara Thorne and Alistair Cross

There's a New Coven in Town

The plague witches have declared war, and ten-year-old Joey is in more trouble than he can even imagine. As the town of Milkwort becomes a battleground of magic and mayhem, sex and scandal, the only thing he seems to have on his side is the sweet, soft-spoken woman who cares for him - his grandmother. And Grandma has a secret...

War of the Witches

First a gruesome murder is committed, then the residents of Milkwort don't seem to be themselves anymore. Little Joey will have to grow up fast if he wants to survive the witches' attacks. Can he and Grandma uncover the heinous secrets and unravel the twisted mysteries that lie just beneath the surface of this seemingly quiet, small town?

Books by Tamara Thorne

Haunted

Murders and Madness

Its violent, sordid past is what draws bestselling author David Masters to the infamous Victorian mansion called Baudey House. Its shrouded history of madness and murder is just the inspiration he needs to write his ultimate masterpiece of horror. But what waits for David and his sixteen-year-old daughter, Amber, at Baudey House, is more terrifying than any legend…

Seduction

First comes the sultry hint of jasmine…followed by the foul stench of decay. It is the dead, seducing the living, in an age-old ritual of perverted desire and unholy blood lust. For David and Amber, an unspeakable possession has begun…

Buy Haunted Now

Tamara Thorne’s

Moonfall

Moonfall, the picturesque town nestled in the mountains of southern California, is a quaint hamlet of antique stores, cider mills, and pie shops, and Apple Heaven, run by the dedicated nuns of St. Gertrude's Home for Girls, is the most popular destination of all. As autumn fills the air, the townspeople prepare for the Halloween Haunt, Moonfall's most popular tourist attraction. Even a series of unsolved deaths over the years hasn't dimmed Moonfall's enthusiasm for the holiday.

Now, orphan Sara Hawthorne returns to teach in the hallowed halls of St. Gertrude's where, twelve years before, her best friend died a horrible death. In Sara's old room, distant voices echo in the dark and the tormented cries of children shatter the moon-kissed night.

But that's just the beginning. For Sara Hawthorne is about to uncover St. Gertrude's hellish secret...a secret she may well carry with her to the grave.

Buy Moonfall Now

Tamara Thorne’s

Eternity

Welcome to Eternity

A little bit of Hell on Earth

When Zach Tully leaves Los Angeles to take over as sheriff of Eternity, a tiny mountain town in northern California, he's expecting to find peace and quiet in his own private Mayberry. But he's in for a surprise. Curmudgeonly Mayor Abbott is a ringer for long-missing writer Ambrose Bierce. There are two Elvises in town, a shirtless Jim Morrison, and a woman who has more than a passing resemblance to Amelia Earhardt. And that's only the beginning.