The Haunting of Pitmon House (19 page)

Granger!
she called.
Look out!

A giant burst of yellow and orange erupted from Dominic,
billowing forward and enveloping Granger and Robert in a split second. She
watched, horrified, as the flame wrapped around them and through them, emerging
on the other side.

Then, just as quickly, Granger and Robert slid rapidly out of
view, past the edge of the attic wall, leaving Dominic standing between her and
the direction they’d left. He looked confused, and she saw him center his gaze
on her, lifting the blowtorch. He grinned as he pulled on the torch’s trigger,
sending a giant plume of flame directly at her.

Eliza backed up rapidly, accelerating with each second until
she found herself passing through the wall of the attic behind her, moving out
into the open air. In a nearby dormer window she saw the flame inside the
attic, chasing after her, stopping at the walls. A second shot of fire erupted
from the blowtorch, and she wondered if it would set the house on fire.

She moved quickly through the air, wanting to return to her
body and the others. She rose, going over the top of the house, seeing Granger
and Robert lying on the grass below. Within seconds she descended, returning to
her body so quickly it sent pain shooting into her neck and racing up the back
of her skull.

She sat up. “Are you OK?”

Granger rolled over and stood. “I’m fine.”

“No, you’re not,” Robert said, sitting up. “You’re still
bleeding.”

Eliza watched as Granger checked his nose, then she turned to
Robert. “You too,” she said. “It wasn’t just in the River. You’re bleeding now,
out here.”

Robert reached up to his lip and touched the blood that was
there, examining his fingers.

“I was afraid he’d burned you,” Eliza said. “Like Rachel.”

“Can’t burn us in the River,” Granger replied, “all dosed
up.”

“He looked pretty confused when you sped off,” Eliza replied.
“He came for me, and I left the other direction.”

“Aside from these nosebleeds,” Granger said, “we protected
ourselves pretty well.”

“Did you see me inspecting that wall?” Eliza asked.

“It looked like you couldn’t go through it,” Robert replied.
“I don’t want to sound mean, but it was a little amusing to watch you hit your
head against it.”

“I found a display case next to it,” Eliza said. “It looked
like the kind of stuff Kendall might have collected.”

“You think something’s behind the wall?” Robert asked.

“I do,” she replied. “We need to see what’s inside there.”

“If you couldn’t pass through it,” Granger replied, “it’s
protected. That might be where the legend shelf lies. Getting through one is
impossible.”

“But this one might be broken,” Eliza said. “You said there
might be something wrong with it.”

“That was just a theory,” Granger replied. “It might be fine
for all we know.”

“How do we get through it?” Eliza asked. “Whatever is inside
is what Kendall doesn’t want us to see.”

“We don’t know that for sure,” Robert replied.

“No, I do,” Eliza replied. “I felt it. The answer is inside
there. How do you get through a wall protected by a legend shelf?”

“As I said, you don’t!” Granger replied. “That’s the whole
point of them.”

“There has to be a way,” Eliza replied. “Is it the legend
shelf that makes the pressure you’re feeling?”

“Probably,” Granger answered.

“What if we knock it down?” Eliza asked. “Come back with a
sledgehammer?”

“It’ll stop you,” Granger replied. “Hell, Robert and I can’t
even get within fifty feet of it.”

“It’s on the same side of the house as the landing, isn’t
it?” Eliza said. “That’s why the pressure was stronger there; that’s got to be
it. We have to try something.”

“I don’t know,” Granger replied. “All I’ve ever heard is that
legend shelves are impenetrable.”

“Is there an expert on them we could talk with?” Eliza asked.
“Pose some questions too?”

Granger pushed himself up from the ground. “There are
experts, sure. We can give it a shot, but don’t hold your breath. No legend
shelf expert will have any interest in lessening the reputation of them.”

“Who’s the best person we can get?” Eliza asked. Robert rose
from the ground and extended his hand to her, pulling her up.

“I don’t know off hand,” Granger said. “There might be some
names in my mother’s book. I’ll look into it if that’s what you want.”

“Would you?” Eliza asked. “I know that’s where the answer lies.
I’m telling you, I could feel it! If we can get past that wall, something
behind it will help. I know it!”

They walked back to the car, and Granger drove them back to
his place.

Eliza tried to sit still, but she’d been holding motionless
for a long time, with the woman’s device hovering over her face like an optometrist’s
exam. The woman smelled of tomato juice and vodka.

Bloody Marys,
she thought.

“I’ve been misled,” the short, dark woman said, pulling the
thin slate from Eliza’s face and using her fingers to move sliding panels on
the device back into their original position. “It was a long drive at great
inconvenience. I do not appreciate being lied to.”

“Lied to?” Granger asked. “No one lied to you.”

“This is far from what you told me,” the woman said, folding
her contraption several times until it was the size of a dollar bill, and
sliding it into the purse that hung from her arm. “What I see before me is a
timid, cowed girl who lives in fear. She is full of self-doubt and self-hatred.
This is not something I can work with.”

She walked to Granger, their height difference significant,
and raised a finger to him.

“False pretenses,” she said, wagging the finger. “A bad
tactic. You’ll gain a reputation. I know others.”

“But she didn’t feel the pressure!” Granger replied. “I
didn’t lie to you! It’s true!”

“There could be a dozen reasons for that!” the small woman
snapped back at Granger. “You told me she was special!” The woman turned to
look at Eliza, eyeing her up and down. “She’s not special. She’s as common as
the day is long.”

Eliza felt her eyes begin to sting. The woman had put some
kind of drops into them before she began her exam. It had caused them to itch,
but she hadn’t been allowed to rub or scratch. Now the itch was becoming unbearable.

“We need help!” Granger said. “You’re one of the foremost
experts. Her brother is at risk.”

“You’re all at risk!” the woman snapped back. “You’ll
reimburse me double my time and expenses, but I’m so annoyed with you right
now, I’m tempted to charge you triple. I didn’t want to come tonight, I told
you so. It has been a complete waste of time.”

Eliza could see that Granger looked desperate. He turned to
look at her; the best she could do was shrug her shoulders.

“What’s wrong with her eyes?” Granger asked the woman,
pointing at Eliza.

“Give it an hour,” the woman replied. “It’ll go down.”

“Can’t you give her something now?” Granger asked. “It looks
painful. Is it painful, Eliza?”

It hurt, but Eliza wasn’t going to admit it to this woman.
“No, I’m fine.”

“And she’s dishonest,” the woman said, walking to Eliza. “Lean
back again,” she ordered.

“No, I’m fine,” Eliza said.

“False bravery,” the woman sighed. “Even more pathetic.
You’re not fine. I have drops that will neutralize the others. Do as I say and
lean back.”

Eliza reluctantly lowered her head back to the sofa, and the
woman leaned over her, positioning a small vial over her eyes. “You’re a lovely
young gifted, my dear. I just can’t help you.”

“I believe you can,” Eliza said, reaching up with her hand to
grab at the woman’s wrist. The bones under her skin felt thin and frail, but
the woman snatched her hand from Eliza’s quickly.

“Are you going to let me put these drops in your eyes, or
not?” she asked.

Eliza held her eyelids open while the woman placed several
drops into each eye. Then the woman patted her hand. “There. Wait a couple of
minutes, and you’ll be fine.”

“I won’t be fine,” Eliza said. “My brother is tied to a
hospital bed, losing his mind. My friend is in the hospital with severe burns
to her head. And here I am, letting some crazy old witch screw around with my
eyes. I must be insane.”

“Bravo!” the woman muttered as she stood up and placed the
vial into her large purse. “Not the first time I’ve been called a witch and not
the best presentation of feigned courage in response to a diagnosis, but you gave
it a shot and that’s better than some.”

She wheeled around, looking for Granger. “Where’s the way
out?”

“You won’t stay?” Granger asked. “You won’t help us?”

“If even half of what you say is true,” the woman replied,
“which I doubt, that would place you tenth or eleventh on my list. Are you
going to show me the exit, or is it up to me to find it?”

“I’ll show you,” Robert said, leading her away.

“Enjoy Detroit,” Eliza called after her.

The woman stopped dead in her tracks and wheeled around. “You
two!” she said, pointing at Granger and Robert. “Out!”

“Out?” Granger asked. “This is our home!”

She turned to Granger and spoke slowly, condescendingly. “Go
somewhere else while I speak to her.”

“Come on,” Granger said to Robert. “We’ll go through to the
garage.”

The woman waited while they left, then she slowly approached
Eliza. “What about Detroit?”

“It’s where you’re headed, isn’t it?” Eliza asked. “The first
name on your list, the people you put off to come here instead?”

The woman sat next to her on the couch, and looked at her
intently, her eyes squinting a little. “I was thinking about Detroit as I was
headed to the door,” she said. “You read my mind? How?”

“I don’t know how,” Eliza said. “It just occurred to me.”

“Your timidity will be a huge stumbling block,” the woman
said. “The real answer is that you were upset, and you decided to look into my
mind. That’s what really happened, isn’t it?”

“No,” Eliza replied.

“Liar,” the woman shot back. “Did you drop into the River to
do it? Or stay normal?”

“I didn’t drop.”

“No, I didn’t think you did. What am I thinking now?”

“I don’t know.”

The woman reached out and slapped Eliza across the face.
“What am I thinking now?”

“You’re thinking about an Italian meat sandwich,” Eliza
replied, raising a hand to her face. “Ow, that hurt!”

“When you were at that wall, what did you feel?”

“The wall in the attic?” Eliza asked.

“Of course that wall!” the woman spat. “Stop dithering!”

Eliza thought. “I felt a tugging in my chest.”

“Could you sense the thoughts of the being that constructed
the wall?”

“I didn’t try. I was confused as to why I couldn’t get
through it, and then my friends were attacked.”

“Did you smell anything?”

“Yes.”

“What?”

“It was floral,” Eliza replied. “I’d smelled it before, but
never in the River.”

“What was it? What was the smell? Think!”

Eliza racked her brain, trying to remember the floral smell
at the wall and compare it to others from her memory. “It reminded me of an
arbor my father tended on our farm,” Eliza said. “That’s it. Wisteria.”

“Wisteria!” the woman replied, her eyes opening wide. Her
head turned away, and Eliza could see her looking around the room as her mind
raced. “You’ll come with me to Chicago,” she said. “There are a couple more
tests I’d like to conduct.”

“For how long?” Eliza asked.

“Through tomorrow,” the woman replied.

“I can’t,” Eliza said. “I have a job. I’m covering for
others. I have to be there.”

The woman stared at her. “I’m not offering lightly,” she
said. “The last time I offered was seventeen years ago. Take it or leave it.”

“I suppose I could call in sick,” Eliza said, already feeling
guilty.

“Tell your friends to pick you up tomorrow at six,” the woman
replied.

Eliza rose from the sofa and found Granger and Robert in the
garage. “She wants me to go with her to Chicago. She wants you to pick me up
tomorrow at six. Should I? Should I go?”

“Go!” Granger said. “We’ll come get you tomorrow! Learn what
you can from her!”

She turned to Robert. “I don’t know this woman.”

“It’s a rare opportunity,” Robert said. “You’ve got nothing
to worry about. Go. This may be the information you need.”

“And don’t take guff from her,” Granger said. “She doesn’t
respect guff-takers.”

She looked at them both. “Tell me this is the right thing to
do?”

“It’s the right thing to do,” they replied in unison.

●

Eliza sucked in air as the woman narrowly missed the back
bumper of the car in front of them. She had tried to engage her in
conversation, but the woman could barely see over the top of the steering wheel
and her chaotic driving kept Eliza on edge. She was afraid if she asked her a
question, it would distract her from the road. When they pulled into the
driveway of a house in Forest Glen, Eliza felt a tremendous amount of body tension
dissipate. It had been a harrowing drive, and she didn’t want to experience it
ever again.

The house was large and beautiful, and they were greeted at
the back door by a butler who asked the woman if she required anything. She
requested tea and led Eliza through the home to a large study, not stopping to
point out anything about the house. When they were inside, the woman pulled
sliding doors closed, sealing them in.

The room was lined with bookcases, which Eliza wondered how
the little woman was able to navigate.
Perhaps they’re for show,
she
thought.

“I collected each of these books carefully,” the woman
replied. “I could have had hundreds more, but I curate them, just as I do
people.” The woman sat in a chair. “They’re not for show.”

She can read my mind, too?
Eliza wondered.

“Impressive,” Eliza said. “Fiction?”

“You are a smart ass!” the woman replied, rising from her
chair and walking to a desk. She opened a drawer and removed a long box, which
she brought to Eliza. Inside was a knife.

“You are naive,” the woman said. “Nothing wrong with that,
unless it gets you killed, or stops you from getting what you want. Have you
ever taken an elemental oath?”

“Never heard of it.”

“I’m going to share some things with you,” the woman said.
“And I want secrecy. I want to know you will not divulge things to others. You
will promise me that what we discuss will remain confidential, and you’ll seal
your promise with this.”

Eliza looked down at the knife. It was shiny silver, with an
ornate handle and a long, thin blade. “What do I have to do?”

“Take the knife in your right hand,” the woman said. “And
slide the sharp end of the blade against the palm of your left hand.”

“Cut myself?” Eliza asked.

“Yes. Then I’ll tell you what to say.”

“Tell me what I’ll be saying before I do.”

The woman smiled. “You’ll say, ‘I swear an elemental oath
that I will not reveal the information I’m about to receive.’”

“That’s it?” Eliza asked.

“That’s it.”

“What happens if I break the oath?”

“You’ll die.” The woman’s smile grew. “Well, it’s hard to
break an elemental oath. Forces move around you to stop you before you do. By
all means, if you’re not comfortable making an oath to keep these things I’m
going to show you between you and me, then don’t do it.”

“No one — not even Granger and Robert?”

“No one,” the woman replied, her eyes becoming firm. “Not a
soul.”

Eliza looked down at the knife in the box. Like Rachel, here
was someone offering to teach her things that her father hadn’t seen fit to
share; and perhaps more than that, things that many gifteds weren’t privy to.

Moment of truth,
she thought.
No going back.

She reached for the knife and brought it up to her palm in a
quick move. Blood began to drip from her hand.

“Show me,” the woman said.

Eliza turned her palm to the woman.

“Say the words.”

Eliza repeated the oath the woman had provided.

The woman smiled. “There, that wasn’t so bad, was it?”

Eliza replaced the knife in the box, surprised that there was
no blood on it. She looked at her left hand; there was no blood there, either.
No mark at all.

“First things first,” the woman said, replacing the box in
the desk. She walked back to a sofa and motioned for Eliza to sit. “The first
secret you must keep,” she said, “is that my name is Aceveda.”

●

Eliza tried to focus on what Aceveda was telling her, but she
hadn’t completely woken up yet. She had expected to have a decent night’s sleep
after the battery of tests the woman put her through the night before, but
instead she tossed and turned, unable to acclimatize to the room, the mattress,
and what was happening around her. She felt a million miles from Granger and
Robert, Pitmon House, and her homestead in Spring Green.