The Old House (Haunted Series Book 16) (25 page)

“Ted, can I at least flip over? I feel like a beached whale,” Mia asked.

“No.  Lie there and be good.”

Audrey laughed behind her hand.  Burt was enjoying Ted’s treatment of Mia.  He had a firm hand on her when she needed it.  He had to be the only person brave enough to do that.

“It’s a negative elemental,” Murphy said.

“What’s that?” Mike asked.

“They are a type of ghost that is drawn to places where a tragedy has occurred.  They feed off the rage until they are so powerful, you can’t stop them.”

“Mia stopped it with salt.”

“She killed it?”

“No, but it went away.”

“She may have to slay it,” Murphy said.  “That angel sword should do it.”

“She’s not going to be able to do this today.  Her back is whacked.”

“I don’t understand
whacked
.”

“Twisted.  The muscles seized up.  I think it’s amazing she’s not dead.”

“Sariel’s armor.”

“Pardon?  Who’s Sariel?”

“Ask Mia.  Have to recharge.”

“Okay,” Mike said, looking around.  He finally had to call for help.  “Where the hell are the energon cubes?”

“I’m coming,” Cid said.

“Mark’s on the way here” Mia said.  “Someone has to stop him.”

“I’ll do it,” Audrey said.  She got up and jogged down the lane.

“See, you don’t have to do everything, Mighty Mouse.  We have other PEEPs,” Ted said, trying to make a point.

“Can I get up now?”

“No.  Twenty minutes of ice, and then you go home.”

“How long has it been?”

“Eight minutes.”

“Bloody hell.”

“They are going to need you in there, Ted.  I’ll watch her,” Burt promised.  “I shouldn’t have asked her to show me the bruises.  I think that little action pretty much sealed her fate.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Mia said.

“Okay, Mia, turn your head and look at me,” Ted instructed.

She did.

“No OOBing.  Murphy’s worn-out, and you can’t be effective in that state.  Plus, you could get sucked into that ley line to nowhere.”

“You’re right.  Go, I’ll behave,” she said.

Burt waited until Ted was out of earshot before he asked, “You were going to OOB, weren’t you?”

“Yes.”

“Seems to me, Ted’s got a good idea of your modus operandi.”

“He pays attention.”

“Mia, I’m sorry you’re hurting, but you need to take time to heal.  Hug your son.  Float on a raft in the water.  Enjoy the afternoon.  We’ve got time to figure this out.  If you go in there in your present state, you may not come back.  You’ve already had two episodes of the house, or something in that house, taking control of you.  Last thing we need is you attacking us with a sword because the house has convinced you to.”

“You’re right,” Mia admitted.  “You weren’t too heavy for the floor, Burt.  They don’t understand how graceful you are.”

“Are you buttering me up?  Because it’s not going to work.”

“Damn.”

Burt laughed.

Mia closed her eyes a moment.  She heard the boys calling her, “Meee ah, Meee ah…”

“Do you hear them?” she asked Burt.

“No, I don’t hear anything.”

“The boys are calling me.”

“Tell them you’ll play with them tomorrow.”

“K.”  Mia closed her eyes and projected her thoughts towards the house.  “Tomorrow.”

They seemed satisfied because they stopped calling her.

~

“I know you’re disappointed,” Audrey said, walking Mark home.  “Mia can’t even stand right now, her back is so bad.”

“How did it happen?”

“Something bad and nasty in that house tried to rip her in half.”

“Oh my god.”

Audrey considered if maybe she should have sugarcoated it.  Well, it was too late now.  “Sometimes we run up against evil things.  Until we have a viable solution, we have to pull back.  Mia is very upset, and her first thoughts were for you.”

“She’s an angel.”

“She’s just a woman,” Audrey clarified.

“Come on, I’ll show you.”  Mark opened the door and invited Audrey in.  “Wait here.”

Audrey was standing in the mudroom when Edie found her.  “Well hello, Miss Audrey, can I help you with something?”

“Mark wants to show me something.”

“You can go up to his room.”

“He told me to wait here,” she said, feeling like an eight-year-old.

“Can I get you a cool drink?”

“Yes, please.  It’s horribly hot out by the house.”

Mark came back to see that Audrey had moved.  He found her in the kitchen sipping lemonade with his grandmother.  He put the bible down in front of her and pointed to the picture of the angel.  “That’s Mia.”

Audrey was shocked.  It looked exactly like her, wings and all.

“Mark, did you explain to Audrey what Mia said when she saw it?” Edie asked.

“No.”

“Audrey, Mia thinks perhaps a relative of hers posed for it.  Evidently, she is related to the artist,” Edie explained.

Audrey looked at the name, Émile Neyer.  “I’ve certainly seen these paintings before, but I never looked at the artist who painted them.  The model could be Mia’s grandmother on her mother’s side.  I heard that she is supposed to bear an uncanny resemblance to her.”

“But what if it was her?”

“It would be a miracle, Mark.  Mia’s just a little younger than I am.  I’ve seen her baby pictures and know the people who raised her.  Mia is kind and fierce, but she’s no angel.”

Edie put her hand over her mouth.

“Oh, I didn’t mean it that way,” Audrey said, embarrassed.

Mark didn’t pick up on it.  “When I first saw her, she was standing on the steps to the cottage holding Brian.  And she shone.  I saw wings behind her.  Wings like…  No, they were different.”

“I was with you and didn’t see any wings.”

Mark didn’t seem to be hearing his grandmother.  “They were larger and spiked downward.”

Audrey was amazed.  The boy was describing the wings she herself had seen.  Was Mark a sensitive or a prophet?  “I’m sure Mia appreciates the way you see her. She had a hard time growing up, and she doesn’t know what to do when people compliment her.”

“That’s a shame,” Edie said.

“She would also be horrified that we were talking about her,” Audrey said.

“We won’t saying anything, will we, Mark?”

“Nah, I wouldn’t want to embarrass her.  She has been really good to me.  You all have.  Do you think it would alright if I brought her flowers?”

Edie couldn’t hide her amusement.

“You know, I think she would like that.  She should be home in an hour or so.  Ted has to finish up and won’t let her out of his sight.”

“They are so cute together,” Edie said.  “Mark, don’t get your heart broken.”

“Ah, Gran, I don’t like her that way.” Mark blushed.

Audrey felt for the boy.  One’s first crush is so hard, it makes no sense.  “I’m going to head back and help take down the awning and tape off the house.  It really is dangerous.  I cannot stress enough that you should not venture in it at all costs.”

“I won’t, Audrey.  As Grandpa Sam says, ‘I’m not a damn fool.’”

“Oh my,” Edie said.  “I have to have a word with that man.”

Mia sat uncomfortably in the padded lounge chair on the deck.  Ted’s treatment of ice packs had eased some of the swelling, and her birdman gene was healing her at a faster rate, but muscle tissue needed time.  Brian was playing down beside her in a carefully constructed playpen that Cid had made for him.  As godfather, he didn’t want to see his godson in a jail, but he did seem to understand that Brian needed solo time out of the arms of his parents to use his imagination and entertain himself.

Mia closed her eyes a moment and thought about what the touch of, what Murphy called, a negative elemental felt like and how it had increased her ire.  She needed to talk to someone more experienced than her.

“Brian, I need to call your great-grandfather.”  She slid her feet around, and no sooner did she set a foot on the deck, when Murphy arrived.

“Ted says you have to rest.”

“I need the cottage phone. I need to talk to Orion,” Mia said.

“I’ll get it for you.”

“Thank you, Murph.”

Murphy left, and Mia considered what the best way to get ahold of Orion was.  Angelo would know where he was.  She knew that with each connection with Angelo, she risked starting up all that nonsense, but a few uncomfortable moments wasn’t a lot to pay when the result could save an innocent or two’s life.

Ted walked out the door with the portable phone.  “Murphy said you wanted the phone.”

“Yes, I need to talk to Orion, and I’m not sure how to get ahold of him,” she explained.

“So you were going to call Angelo?” Ted asked.

“I could call Father Santos or Gerald, and they could call Angelo for me,” Mia said thoughtfully.

Ted leaned against the railing and looked down at his wife.  “Why don’t you call Angelo directly?”

“Because I don’t want to open up a humongous can of worms,” she answered.

“You know that he likes you,” Ted said.

“I thought it was a phase and it would pass, but I can see it hasn’t.”

“You still don’t trust him, do you?”

“It’s not that exactly.”  Mia fought to find the right words.  “He doesn’t think the same way we do.  I don’t want to pin solipsism on him because of the way he cares for the innocents of this world, but he broods when he doesn’t get his way.  And this is when he is most dangerous to me, to us.”

“I’ll call him,” Ted said.

Mia melted.  “Would you, please?”

Ted pulled out his cell phone, found the number and punched in the digits on the landline handset.  “Hello, I’d like to speak to Angelo Michaels.  Theodore Martin.  Yes, I’ll wait.”

Angelo was grooming when his driver knocked on the door.  “Yes?”

“There is a Theodore Martin on the…”

“Give it here,” Angelo ordered, fearing the worse.  “Is she safe?”

“Calm down, there was an incident, but Mia is alright.  She needs to contact Orion.  She needs his guidance.  Do you have a number, or do I need to have Murphy send smoke signals?”

A very relieved Angelo laughed.  “Actually, he’s here.  Let me get him for you.”

“Orion is at Angelo’s,” Ted said, handing Mia the phone.

“Hello?” Orion’s voice called out.

“Sorry to disturb you,” Mia started, “But I need your advice.”

“On the phone or would you like me to fly over?”

“I’m not at home,” Mia explained.  “We are…” Mia explained where they were.  “I’m over-my-head, injured, and can’t think straight.”

“Mia, I’m on my way.  I’ll have Angelo’s driver bring me.  We don’t want to frighten the locals.”

“We’ll make room,” Mia said.  “Thank you, I owe you a big one.”

“Nonsense, you are my granddaughter. I’m honored you called.”

Mia handed Ted the phone.  “He’s driving up.”

Ted squatted down and wiped a tear from off of Mia’s nose.  “Minnie Mouse, why are you so sad?”

“I’m not sad.  It’s just, the moment I heard his voice, I started crying.”

“I think it’s relief.  What happens when you hear my voice?”

Mia lifted an eyebrow.

“Oh.  Well, there will be none of that until you’re well,” he told her.  “I’m not just a sex symbol. I have other uses.”

Mia laughed.  “You make handsome, smart children,” she said, looking at their son who had managed to stack the rings upside down.

“My worry is that the boy
only
thinks outside the box.”  Ted reached in and picked up the offered toy and looked at it.  “Brian, your mom’s granddad is coming for a visit.”

“Gee pop,” Brian said, smiling.

Mia shook her head.  “He calls you Da De and just about everyone else by name, but I’m…”

“Ah am,” Brian said, handing Ted a plastic ring to give his mother.

Ted gave it to Mia.  “It must mean something to him.  Like Minnie Mouse.”

“I’ll take your word for it,” Mia said, putting the large yellow ring on her head.

Brian laughed and clapped his hands.  He pulled off another ring and babbled something to Ted.  Ted put that one on top of the other.  This progressed until all rings had been stacked on top of Mia’s head.

“Hey, Cooper! Told you, your head was flat,” Mike called up from the yard below.

“Krrrownnn,” Brian said.

“My son says it’s a crown,” Mia answered.

“I knew it the moment we met.  I said to Burt, that is one Queen Bi…”

“Whoa, baby ears!” Mia scolded, her crown falling down into her lap.

Brian’s face fell.

Ted picked up the yellow one and pulled some strands of Mia’s hair through it securing the ring to the top of her head.  “There.  Mommy has a crown again.”

“Krrownnn,” Brian repeated.

~

Mark walked nervously through the tall men who were standing around, talking outside one of the big recreational vehicles.

“Can I help you, Mark?” Cid asked.

“I wanted to see Mia.”

She’s up on the deck,” Cid replied.

“Thank you.”

Cid, Mike and Burt watched as the twelve-year-old put a sweaty hand through his hair before climbing the steps.  In the other hand, he held a handpicked bouquet of wild flowers.  He wore what Cid assumed were his church clothes.  His shoes shone from a recent polishing.

“Ted’s in trouble,” Mike said.  “That boy has come a courting.”

Mia had closed her eyes to nap, after Ted had taken Brian in for his, when she sensed a presence.  She opened her eyes and turned her head in the direction of the steps.  “Hello, Mark, it’s good to see you.”

Mark was spellbound.  Mia had a halo.  It took him a minute to realize it was a baby’s stacking ring on her head.  “I like your halo.”

“It’s supposed to be a crown.  My son and husband’s idea.  You know that a halo is an artistic representation of the aura that arises from the angels, right?”

“It’s how they see them,” Mark agreed.  “Oh, I picked these for you,” he said, skirting the playpen.

Mia reached out and took the bouquet.  “Thank you, they are beautiful.  I’ll have Ted put them in water when he returns.  Please, pull up a chair and sit down.”

Mark did so.

“I’m sorry about this afternoon.”

“It’s okay.  The house isn’t going anywhere, and I got all my chores done for the week.”

“I’m sure your grandmother is pleased.”

“I don’t know about that. She’s always happy, so I can’t really tell.”

“It must be wonderful to be around happy people.”

Mark thought a moment.  “It is when I’m happy, but when I’m crabby, it’s annoying.”

“We are very much alike.  We need our crabby times.”

“Audrey explained how you got hurt.  I’m sorry I told you about the old house.”

“No, don’t be.  You see, Mark, the house has something dangerous in it.  I’m going to figure out how to get it out.  I’ve asked an expert to come and help me with this.  He also happens to be my grandfather.”

“The painter?”

“No, another grandfather.”

“My dad’s parents aren’t living, so I only have one grandpa.”

“I didn’t know I had any until this year.”

“Really?”

“I wouldn’t lie to you, Mark.”

Ted came out and saw Mark and the flowers Mia held so tenderly.  He backtracked, found a vase and put some water in it, and returned.  “Let me put them in here,” he said.  He placed the flowers on the small table next to Mia and left the two alone.

“Your husband isn’t mad I’m here, is he?”

“I don’t think so.”

“Good, because I wouldn’t want to tangle with that giant.”

Mia laughed.  “Ted’s tall, but he is a softy.  You could take him.”

Mark laughed.

“He saved my life, Mark.”

“Really?”

“A psychopath tossed me down eighty feet into a well of ice cold water.  Ted climbed down and rescued me.”

“Wow.  Eighty feet!”

“I’ve been lucky to have heroes around me like Ted and Murphy and the rest of the PEEPs.  I tend to run into the fray before thinking things through.  Today, I was caught unawares.  All I could think was that I had to get Mike and Cid to safety. I’m built a bit different; I can take a little more of a beating than most people.”

“Is it because you’re an angel?” he asked.

“Oh my, I’m no angel.  I do, however, know one.”

“Really?”

“As I said before, I’ll never lie to you.  You may not like all that I have to say, but I’ll always be honest with you, Mark.”

“I can see things other people can’t,” Mark blurted out.

“Go on, I’m listening.”

“When my dad was getting ready to leave the last time, I saw him coming home in a coffin.  I begged him not to leave, but he went anyway.”

“That must have been hard on you.  But he did return alive.”

“He might as well be dead.”

“Mark, I want you to listen to me.  Things that you see are warnings or possibilities.  They aren’t necessarily going to happen.  But for the moment in time that you see them, they could.  Your dad didn’t die because there were hundreds of moments that happened in between.”

“He still got blown up.”

“Yes, but there was a medic there, who was trained, who stabilized him.  Doctors and nurses who cared for him…  He returned a broken man, but he returned.  He needs you.  Hopefully, Ted and Cid have worked out the bugs, and you’ll be able to better communicate with him.”

“He’s going to die.”

“Everyone dies, Mark.  Our time here on earth has a limit, but when we move on, there are infinite possibilities.  What a wondrous adventure awaits us, when our time comes.”

“That eighty foot drop killed you, didn’t it?”

“Yes.  I was lucky to have Murphy around to start my heart when it quit, Ted who climbed into the well, and Burt and Mike who were there to pull us both out.  Glenda had a warm bath to take the chill out of me while a lady named Beth called for help.  I survived.  If it was foretold that I would fall into that well, and I hadn’t met Murphy or PEEPs, I’d be dead.  Nothing is for certain.  Don’t give up on your dad, Mark.”

Mark sat there and thought about her words.  Below the deck, unseen to Mia and Mark, Cid, Mike and Burt were listening to Mia’s words.  Inside, on the other side of the screened window, Ted, Audrey and Glenda heard what Mia told the young prophet.

“You’ve told me so much.  I’m going to have to think about this.  Can I come back and ask you more questions?”

“Yes.  Oh, before you leave, check in with Ted and Cid.  I think they need to make some adjustments.  You look very nice by the way.  Very handsome.  Don’t let them ruin your suit.  Maybe take the jacket off first,” she suggested.

“I will.  Thank you, Mia.”

“No, thank you for the visit, the flowers, and understanding,” she said sweetly.

Mark got up to go.

Ted was at the door.  “Hey, kiddo, could I measure the spot between your eyes?”

“Yeah sure.  Why?”

“Come on, and I’ll show you.  Hold on.”  Ted went to the deck’s edge and called out, “Paging Igor, paging Igor, meet Doctor F in the kitchen.”

“Doctor F?” Mia questioned and then moaned. “So you’re Doctor Frankenstein today?”

Ted smiled, showing Mia all his teeth.

“Don’t do that.  It gives me the creeps.”

Mark laughed.  The two of them walked into the house.

Mia looked over at the flowers and smiled.  Her eyes drooped as the fatigue she was keeping at bay overcame her, and she fell asleep and dreamed of flowers.

~

Mark left the cottage feeling very positive.  Ted and Cid were optimistic that their invention would work after a few adjustments.  He walked up the drive and paused as an expensive sedan stopped at the end.  The window rolled down, and the driver asked, “Is this where Mia Martin is residing?”