The Haunting Season (31 page)

Iron.

Mrs. Hirsch had known all along. Hadn’t Brandt mentioned that her family had owned Siler House for years before finally selling it?

Brandt grinned at Gage. “I have strength you won’t believe. I guess you could say the gift was
on the house
. I can’t let you leave, Gage. None of you. You understand, right? The experiment isn’t over yet.”

Behind Brandt, Mrs. Hirsch had crawled through the window. Would she help them or join forces with Riley?

Gage held his head up, defiant. “The experiment is over for us.”

Mrs. Hirsch held something thin and shiny in her hand as she stumbled across the yard toward them, her attention solely on Brandt. Was that a golf club? A wood iron? Brandt was too focused on Gage to notice her approach.

Gage stepped back.

Brandt laughed. “Not so tough now, are you?”

“Gah!” Mrs. Hirsch brought the head of the golf club down on Brandt’s head. She swung again, splitting his head open. He toppled forward, falling face first. Mrs. Hirsh continued to bring the golf club down on Brandt’s lifeless body again and again, her blows becoming harder and quicker with each swing.

“The gravesite!” Jess shouted, trying not to watch the grisly scene in front of her. “The fence—it’s iron!”

Allison perked up. “That’s right! Demons can’t cross over it!”

Jess removed the already opened lock and swung the gate open. Allison darted inside first, then Bryan.

“Hurry!” Jess screamed at Gage. The gaping red, smoldering hole in Riley was closing up. Mrs. Hirsch was still busy practicing her golf swing on what was left of Brandt’s head, but she doubted that would last much longer. They couldn’t risk she’d turn on them next.

Riley began to scale his way down the tree.

“
GAGE!
” Jess screamed.

Gage made his way to her, although not nearly as fast as she wanted him to—his ankle preventing him from running. Her heart pounded furiously in her chest.

Hurry, damn it! Hurry!

“Close the gate!” Allison shrieked. “He’s not going to make it. I’m sorry, Jess!”

“No!” Jess shouted back. She wouldn’t leave anyone behind. Especially Gage.

“You can reopen it when he’s closer! Do it! Close the gate!” Allison dove forward, but Bryan held her back.

“You’re risking all of us for Gage!” Allison wailed.

“He’d do the same for us,” Bryan reminded.

Fear did strange things to people and Jess believed that coming here after having to deal with the possession had broken Allison permanently. She was a rat drowning in a sewer flood. She’d bite and climb over anything in her path to escape.

A shadow, because that’s all Jess could describe it as, appeared on the other side of the fence. She called the entity a shadow, but in reality, what appeared before them seemed more like a void—as though all the light, all the space where the figure stood, existed in some black hole. The ample moonlight failed to penetrate it. The figure was tall and male, but nothing like the transparent ghosts she’d been accustomed to seeing. The ghost’s features were impossible to see because they blended in with the night…

Dad?

Wishful thinking. Dad would show himself. This ghost is intentionally hiding his identity.

Still…

“The man on the stairs!” Allison said. “He’s going to make it in! Close the gate!”

“He’s not after us,” Jess said.

“You don’t know that! It’s a ghost! They’re bad, Jess. Why can’t you get it through your head? Damn you!”

The shadowy figure stepped aside as Gage drew closer, then stood in Riley’s path. The two shoved each other for a moment before the figure vanished. Gage limped inside the gate just as Riley’s hand grasped the back of his shirt.

“
Let go!
” Jess yelled, slamming the gate closed. As she did so, it made contact with Riley’s hand. He screamed and the iron burned him.

Riley circled the gravesite, but ventured no further. Jess embraced Gage, hugging him tightly against her. For a moment, she thought Riley had him.

He kissed the top of her head. “I’m okay. Are you?”

She nodded.

Gage turned to Bryan and Allison. “Are you guys okay?”

“I’d be better if you had something for this headache,” Bryan replied solemnly.

Allison didn’t look up. “I’m sorry. I thought—”

Jess let go of Gage and turned to Allison. This was as close to admitting that not every ghost meant them harm as Jess would ever hear from her. “You’re going to be fine, Allison. We all are. When it’s daylight, they’ll find us here.”

Allison sniffed. “But what if the house doesn’t let them in?” She stole a glance outside the gates where the ghosts of Siler House waited and watched.

“I don’t know,” Jess replied.

They sat together at the base of the monument. No one mentioned they were sitting with the girls’ and Riley’s remains just a feet away. Gage rested with his back against the monument, cradling Jess against his chest. Allison faced the house, staring, rocking in place. Bryan finally stretched out on the ground. He needed a doctor—or something to knock him out for a few hours until his head stopped pounding.

Mrs. Hirsch continued to stare at them from the other side of the fence.

“Now what?” Jess asked.

Gage shrugged. “If Riley doesn’t kill us first, we’re stuck here until Monday.”

“I hope the house lets them in,” Jess said.

“It’s got to let them in, right?” Bryan asked. “It has to.”

Allison continued rocking. “Riley will think of something else. He won’t wait until Monday.”

Riley had resumed his place in the oak, his glowing eyes fixated on them from his perch.

“He’s figuring out a way to open the gate,” Allison said.

They huddled together in the dark, watching Riley and Mrs. Hirsch. Jess wondered how badly Riley and the house wanted them.

CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR

Dawn took its time chasing away the night. One by one, the ghosts returned to Siler House. Except Riley. He’d remained vigilant the entire night. He currently hunkered next to Brandt’s body. He scooped up something with a finger and tasted it.

“Look,” Jess whispered to Gage. She didn’t want to alarm Allison, who seemed to be dozing. Mrs. Hirsch was pressed up against the gate, her face puffy and greenish, indicating bacteria had set in. Even from this distance Jess smelled her decay. She couldn’t think of anything worse than being trapped inside a rotting corpse.

Except maybe sitting here, waiting for Riley to find a way to open the gates and kill them.

Gage was watching Mrs. Hirsch, too. “I don’t know why it didn’t work the same on her as Ben’s dog and the animals. Maybe because I wasn’t standing in front of her when I called her back. Who knows? All I do know is I’m done. I’m never bringing anything back again.”

Jess nodded. “I wish things were that easy for me. I wish I had a choice—to never see ghosts again.”

“She’s able to touch the gates,” Bryan said quietly. “Mrs. Hirsch.”

“Because she’s not a demon or a ghost,” Allison explained.

“Riley’s gone!” Bryan said. “Where did he go?”

“No idea,” Gage replied. “Maybe it’s a trick.”

“Think we can get to the front gates before he shows back up?” Bryan asked.

Gage sighed heavily. “Even if we could, they won’t open until Riley’s gone. The house is tied to him.”

Jess was listening to the guys talking, but her attention was also on Mrs. Hirsch.

Mrs. Hirsch lifted the pendant hanging from around her neck. With a quick yank, she broke the chain, and held the pendant out to Jess. She stood, ignoring Gage’s quiet warning to be careful.

“It’s iron,” Jess whispered. “The pendant. It’s made of iron.”

“Jess!” Allison protested as Jess walked closer. “Stay away from her!”

Jess ignored her. If Mrs. Hirsch was offering her the pendant, she didn’t mean her any harm.

She hoped.

Mrs. Hirsch’s cloudy eyes narrowed on Jess. “Take it!”

Jess jumped at the gravelly, hoarse command, but she slowly reached for the pendant. Mrs. Hirsch grabbed her with her other hand and tugged Jess to the fence, inches from her face. Jess wanted to cry out, but the scream remained trapped in her throat. Mrs. Hirsch’s flesh was cool to the touch, like Grams’ hands at the wake. Her eyes remained focused on Jess.

Gage and Bryan jumped to their feet and pulled at Mrs. Hirsch’s hands, trying to get her to release Jess. She ignored them and only held on tighter, making Jess cry out in pain.

“Wear it. Then be careful what you let in.” Mrs. Hirsch’s breath was the foulest thing Jess had ever smelled.

With that, she let go. Jess staggered backward, rubbing the red marks on her wrist. Mrs. Hirsch tottered back a couple steps. Jess glanced down at the pendant. It was iron all right, with a raised Celtic cross.

Be careful what you let in, Jess
.

Her eyes met Mrs. Hirsch’s once more. She’d never told anyone what Grams used to say. Not Allison, not Gage, not even Brandt. And certainly never Mrs. Hirsch.

Gage examined her wrist.

Mrs. Hirsch narrowed her eyes. “Fix it.”

“Maybe we should make a run for it,” Allison suggested.

“What if it’s a trick? Riley didn’t just up and leave. And now. We’ve got Mrs. Hirsch to worry about,” Gage replied.

“We’ll take our chances,” Bryan said.

Gage rubbed his forehead. “You know I hate to ask this. Can you do it? Can you get rid of Mrs. Hirsch
and
Riley? And live to tell the tale?”

Bryan’s face fell. Jess didn’t think it was possible for him to look any worse. The nosebleed had slowed overnight but a small trickle remained and Bryan wiped it away with a rust-stained hand. “No. Sorry. I might be able to do it once more. But beyond that?”

“Then we’ve got to take care of Mrs. Hirsch first. Somehow.” Jess understood the gravity of what she was saying. There was no need to clarify who Bryan needed to save his strength for.

“You mean
kill
her?” Bryan asked.

“She’s already dead,” Gage said. “You said so yourself—bringing someone back from the dead means they’re just zombies. Besides,
look
at her, Bryan.”

Jess took another look, as well. Mrs. Hirsch had been dead long enough that she’d already bloated the way corpses did as they started to decompose.

Allison had been too quiet. She was on her knees, her head against the sidebars of the gravesite, her right arm extended through the fence into the dirt on the other side. What was she doing? Once she finished, Allison joined them.

“One? You can only send away
one
?” Allison asked. Her face had taken on a determination that Jess hadn’t seen before. “Think about it, Bryan,” Allison went on. “If Mrs. Hirsch was willing, are you positive you could send her to wherever it is you send things?”

“I guess so.”

“No!” Allison snapped. “Are you
sure
. We need to know, Bryan.”

“Why is it so important?” Jess asked.

Bryan seemed to think about it for a second. “Yeah,” he finally said.

Allison bit at her bottom lip and tears threatened her eyes. “Where do they go, Bryan?”

He shrugged. “I don’t know. But Riley won’t stay gone for long. He’s a demon. Not a person.”

Allison brushed her hair from her face. “Okay, then. When I tell you to do it, you do it. Okay, Bryan? No matter what.”

His forehead scrunched in concern. “Sure, okay.”

“Can I borrow this?” Allison asked, tapping the pendant in Jess’s hand. “I promise you can have it back.”

Jess reluctantly handed her the pendant. Allison gave her a smile that didn’t reach her eyes. Her sad gaze fell on all of them, one by one, and finally back to Jess. “It’s for the best.”

Then Allison opened the gate and stepped outside.

“
Allison!
” Jess screamed. “
No! Come back!
”

Allison smiled faintly. “Then tell them I did it, Jess. Tell them I killed Dr. Brandt and Mrs. Hirsch. Tell them the demons came for me. It won’t be a lie.”

She walked over to where she’d been playing with the dirt. Mrs. Hirsch barely glanced her way, her focus still on Bryan and Gage—the person who’d put her in this position, and the one who could remedy it. Clearly, Allison didn’t think Mrs. Hirsch was a threat. She’d said they couldn’t trust Mrs. Hirsch, and yet Allison had walked out of the gates and passed right by her without hesitation.

What is she doing?

Jess ran to the side of the gate. In the dirt, Allison had written the letters of the alphabet. Above, on opposite sides, she’d written the word Yes and the word No. Beneath it all, Good-Bye.

“It’ll work,” Allison said as she knelt onto the ground. She held onto the chain and dangled the pendant above the makeshift Ouija board.

“No!” Jess said. “Allison! Get back in here!”

“Are you here?” Allison asked, opening the session. The pendant swung to the word Yes.

She mumbled something else too faint for Jess to hear. Riley appeared out of nowhere, standing right behind Allison.

“Allison, hold onto the pendent!” Jess said. “For the love of God, hold onto the pendant!”

Allison stood slowly. She leaned against the fence. “Me, Bryan. Send me.”

Nothing could have prepared Jess for what Allison was doing—offering herself up for possession. The thing she feared most.

“What?” Bryan said. “No! Allison! Get back in here!”

“Do it!” Allison hissed. “Then run. I don’t know how much time you’ll have. I’ll hold onto him for as long as I can.”

“No!” Jess screamed as Allison turned and dropped the pendant into the dirt and raised her arms in welcome. “Come to me, Eurynome! Come to me, the demon we call Riley. I welcome you.”

She looked at Jess once more, her eyes filled with terror.

“Run away, Allison! Hide. To your tower. Don’t look,” Jess called out.

The demon swept down on Allison and wrapped his arms around her. She opened her mouth to scream and the demon covered it with his, dissolving into black smoke and insects. Allison remained in pose, rigid and mouth still open in a scream as the demon entered her.