Chapter 22

Sabaste stood at the top of the stairs, listening in on the family. The thunder was muted due to the fact the basement was built out of fieldstones and thicker timber than they used nowadays, so their voices came to him clearly. It was almost time to get this over with. He wasn’t sure what would happen next. At first, he didn’t care, he just wanted Nix dealt with, but now… now was a different story. Now that now was here, he began to have second thoughts.

He squared his shoulders, shook back his new long black hair, and then looked down as he smoothed his shirt. There, he noticed his new chest, and looked around slyly. “Squeeze-squeeze,” he said softly, copping his own feel. He shook his head and cleared his throat.

“Hey, Mom?” he called down softly.

“Yes, hon?”

“Could you come help me with something?”

“What is it, Jade?”

“I need help bringing my bundle down, it’s not heavy, just awkward and I don’t want to make two trips.”

“Is it things you absolutely need, Jade? We’re all settled down here. Why don’t you come on down and we’ll watch a movie?”

Sabaste peeled his lips away from his teeth and balled his fists at his side. Why did it seem as if almost all mothers were poured from the same mold? Every one of them had to insist on a stubborn streak.

“I also need some help finding some… girly things.”

“Girly things?” Kelly frowned at Nix, and then looked down at Jayce, who was sitting her in lap and playing with a ball of clay.

Nix smirked and lifted his brows. “Girly things,” he hissed at her playfully. “Things that make men want to rip their faces off and shower in lemon juice rather than see, discuss, or go near that aisle in the store.”

“Tampons!” Jenn yelled without lifting her head from the piece of doll furniture she was examining. “She means tampons!”

“Tampins!” Jayce agreed loudly, causing the adults to burst into a soft fit of laughter.

“Honey, I thought you just finished your period?” Kelly called as she shifted Jayce over to his father. Sabaste turned and slowly started to bang his forehead into the wooden wall. Of all the things in the world to have to talk about…

“No, I’m not done… it… came back,” he said lamely. His new face twisted in disgust at the content of the conversation and he briefly wondered how women could so casually talk about this horrible and disgusting subject. He silently begged any and all deities who could hear him for Kelly not to ask any more about it. He had no clue how to describe a period, other than using the phrase ‘remember that elevator scene in The Shining?’ That was the extent of his personal experience with them.

“Alright, I’m coming up.”

Sabaste grinned like a shark in the dark stairwell.

*****

The small attic window faced the large hayfield and in the distance, Billy could see the roof of the old barn. It was rusted with age, weather worn and familiar. Now and then, one of the tin panels covering it would flap gently, and then lift up, only to be snapped back down by the strong nails holding it in place. He reached out and placed his hands on the wall on either side of the window, his palms caressing the plaster gently as he leaned forward.

Clouds boiled and rolled overhead, the storm had stalled as if there were an invisible dam right over Bon Hollow, and the more the storm was paused, the more it seemed to build up. “I’ve never seen you do that before,” he said to the gray mass in the sky and then lowered his gaze to the trees that whipped just below the window. “You’re mad about something,” he whispered as his eyes grew heavy. He closed them for longer than a blink, forcing them open each time before exhaustion could wrap its seductive arms around his frame.

*****

“I’m sorry to have to do this to you, mama,” Sabaste said with Jade’s voice but his own accent. He honestly meant it as he brought his fist up and with just the right amount of energy drawn from himself, punched Kelly in the back of the head. He moved quickly to catch her so no one would hear her as she fell to the floor. The only place he could think to stash her unconscious body was in the laundry room. Thankfully, Kelly was a small woman, it didn’t take much to drag her to the small room and then lock her in.

Once that task was done, he stood in the kitchen, looking about and listening. Billy wasn’t pacing and he didn’t know where he was exactly. Having spent so much time in the basement in the small room under the stairs had hard wired Sabaste into being jumpy when it came to that spirit. Nonetheless, he knew it was time to get Nix out of the house so Lance could take care of his own vendetta.

“Alright, Nikki, it’s you and me, brother. Time to call in your debt, because one way or the other, you are going to pay it,” Sabaste whispered to himself as he headed back to the basement door.

*****

“Hey, Jade… you and I… we’re getting pretty close, aren’t we?” Lance asked as he walked further into the room.

“We’re friends,” Jade said quickly. She turned, pinning the young spirit with a mistrustful look. Gregg hadn’t been himself all day and it was putting her on edge. At first she tried to tell herself that maybe it was Billy who was getting him out of sorts, but that explanation only felt like a lie. No, this was something more. He was almost out of character. Gregg, who was so easy to smile and lend a gentle word, and was full of a confident grace, who now seemed to be dodgy and a little creepy. There was something now in his smile that made her think of dark things, rotting away in a wet hole. The twinkle was gone out of his eye, now there was a hard, predatory hunger lurking within them. The more she thought of those things, the more she could see them.

“But more than friends, right?” Lance took a few steps closer to her and Jade, who had pulled out two of her favorite shirts, held them close to her chest as she watched in warily.

“No. We’re friends,” Jade said firmly. “Gregg, why don’t you go downstairs, I’ll meet you in the basement.”

“But we’re alone up here… why don’t we take a little advantage of it. I know how eager you were to be with that other guy. You remember him, right?”

“Of course I remember him,” Jade said, her tone acerbic. “You told on me, remember?”

Lance gazed down at his shoes, trying to look embarrassed, but actually trying to remember the events of that night. “Yeah… I’m sorry, I was just jealous, that’s all.”

“Jealous?”

“Yeah, you’re just so pretty and you don’t know how rare that is… for pretty girls to come here to this place.”

Gregg had never commented on her outer beauty before, only the lovely nature of her heart. He told her that he had seen external beauty fade over the years, but if the heart was beautiful, it never really faded. That was all that had mattered.

“Beauty fades…” she said quietly, gauging him. Lance shrugged. “Yeah, but… in this day and age, you can always do things to prolong it.” He offered her what he hoped was a charming smile, but to his discomfort, Jade’s frown only deepened.

“I’m going downstairs,” she said quietly, as if trying to subdue a growling dog who was seconds away from biting. “You can meet me there…”

Lance reached out for her wrist, missing it by millimeters as Jade made a quick move to her door. It slammed shut, trapping her in her room. She backed up quickly, her eyes large in her face as she moved backwards towards her window.

“I think you need to get out of my room, right now,” she said in a hushed tone as Gregg approached her.

“What? You don’t like me? I thought you liked older guys, I died over a hundred years ago!”

“You died nearly two hundred years ago,” Jade whispered. “The Gregg I know did…”

“Yeah, that’s what I meant, nearly two hundred years ago, if you want to get into semantics…”

“Who are you?”

“It’s me! You know me, I’m your friend!” Lance reached out for her, trying to take her arms to hold onto her, to keep her from bolting, but her instincts were sharp and she ducked to her right, running to the bathroom door. He lifted his hand and it slammed shut moments after she slipped past it.

“Damnit!” he growled as he followed after her. “Jade, wait up!”

*****

Billy had fallen asleep standing with his hands still propped on either side of the small window. At the cry of Jade’s name, his head snapped up and he had to fight to open his eyes. Footsteps pounded down the stairs and he looked out of the window again, assuming the storm had grown worse and was causing damage to his house. The clouds continued to roll and boil in place, as if still held back by an unseen wall. Turning, he swayed in place, and then closed his eyes again, focusing himself to gather what strength he had. Jade cried out and movement past the window caught his attention. He shook his head, thinking he was seeing things as Jade and Nix ran towards the barn.

“Okay… this is getting weird…” he murmured as a door slammed. Thunder rumbled overhead, giving him the much needed push to float towards the door, and then through it and down the narrow staircase as he entered the upstairs. The area was quiet, but he could almost smell the fear that had come off Jade as she ran from her room. He glided down the hallway and towards the main staircase, where he descended slowly, his instincts bellowed at him to be careful. Before he could reach the landing, a bright burst of energy, like that of a lightning strike, exploded around him. In a sudden shockwave of agony, Billy cried out as he threw his arms up and shut his eyes tight as another blast sent his spectral body flying through the parlor wall and out of the house. He landed on the ground and rolled until the large trunk of the very tree, on which he planned to hang the tire swing, halted him abruptly. Shaking his head, Billy rose to his hands and knees.

“Doesn’t feel so good, does it?” Lance asked. Billy lifted his head as anger began to seep into him. How did that foul creature get through his barrier? When he located the source of the voice, he paused, blinking in confusion as Gregg came around the corner of the house, smiling a mean smile as his hands opened and closed at his sides.

“Gregg?” He asked in disbelief.

“Yeah, Gregg,” Lance cooed as he lifted his left hand. He sent another bolt of energy towards Billy, who tried to roll out of the way, but was struck once again. He cried out as his body bounced over the ground, every fiber of his ethereal being screaming in agony. When he came to rest, he lifted his pain-etched face up towards his attacker.

“Where’s Gregg?” Billy ground out through his clenched jaw. Lance frowned at him, disappointed that there was no fear, or weakness, just raw anger.

“Gregg has been taken care of,” Lance sniffed. “Besides, you don’t need to worry about him, he’s not here, you need to worry about me.” He fired another bolt at the blond, who after the first two attacks, was too weak to scramble out of the way. Instead, Billy closed his eyes and took the hit full on before succumbing to darkness. Strolling over to his prone form, his palm held out and ready to fire again, Lance nudged Billy’s side with the toe of his boot, seeing if he could get a reaction. When there was no movement, Lance nodded, satisfied. Billy could stay right there; face down in the mud, while he took his time to kill the children.

*****

“Nibs! Get Jayce and hide under the stairs and no matter what, do not make a peep, do you understand me?” Jade said as she flew down the staircase. Her voice was quiet, but urgent and Jenn didn’t argue as she rose and quickly took Jayce’s hand. The look of pure terror on Jade’s face was enough to make her mind.

“Where’s mom?” Jenn asked quietly as Jade opened the small recess door beneath the stairs and reached in to move some items aside so she could stash the kids safely inside.

“I don’t know… I thought she’d be in here… Where’s Uncle Nikki?”

“You said you needed help carrying things down, and Mom went up to help you, and then you came and said you had something in the barn that you hid from me that you didn’t want tore up if the storm destroyed the barn, and he went out to help you…”

Jade kneeled down and took Jenn’s shoulders, leaning close to her to speak quietly. “Jenn, that wasn’t me, I never came down to ask for help. If Gregg comes down, do not answer him,” she took Jenn’s chin and held it, making sure they made eye contact. “I don’t think it’s Gregg,” she breathed softly. “Something bad is here, and we have to hide...”

Jenn looked at the darkness beyond the little open door, and then turned fearful eyes back to her sister. Jade smoothed her hands along the sides of Jenn’s face, pushing her hair back. “You have to be brave, okay?” Jade whispered. “We don’t have time to be afraid, get in there and protect Jayce.”

“Where will you hide?”

“I’ll… find somewhere. Go, now.”

Jenn nodded and climbed into the hiding place and wrapped her arms around Jayce as Jade shut them into darkness. Moments later, the basement door swung open and Gregg called down.

“Jade? Are you in here, dear?”

Jade backed away from the door, her head turning side to side as she frantically tried to find a place to hide. It brought back the memories of her as a little girl, where she hid from the ghost of the angry old lady. However this time, if found, it would be more than ugly words, pinches, scratches or even a hard push waiting for her. This time, things could get ugly and in a hurry. Anger rose up in her like bile and she looked for something—anything—that she could use as a weapon, silly as it may seem to fight against a ghost. Crouching down, she backed towards the wall, her hands guiding her from behind as she tried to find the darkest corner she could hide in. She found her way to the storage shelves on her quest for a hiding spot and when she got in-between the double sets of shelves, she let out a soft gasp as she bumped the small familiar box she had mysteriously lost the day before. She quickly grasped it and brought it around in front of her, where the dim light of the room reflected off the mirrored panels. The box pulsed once.

“Jade… please… it’s me,” Gregg’s soft voice called to her, where she felt his words more in her soul rather than her ears. “You’ve got to get me out of here, you’re all in danger!” Inside the box, he was screaming so his voice would carry through the glass panels.

“Gregg!” she whispered, and then cut her face up with a surprised gasp as Lance came into the room.

“Jade? Kids? Where are you?” Lance called. Jade pressed the box to her chest, holding onto it for dear life.

*****

“Jade!” Nix called. “Slow down!” They were nearly at the barn and the rain was trying to fall again. He couldn’t help but to notice how weird it was that the storm stalled right on top of them. In the distance, he could see sheets of rain falling along the back field, but it seemed to be waiting before drenching them.

“Almost there, Nix!” she called. “Hurry up! We have to hurry!” She moved to the old barn and reached out, grasping one of the double doors in her hands and pulling. She tugged and cursed, but it wouldn’t budge until Nix reached her and grasped the handle of the latch, throwing it to the side so the doors could be opened. He gave her a strange look; Jade knew how to unlock the old barn door.

“I think we need to hurry up and get back to the basement!” Nix called over a rush of hard wind that threatened to toss them into the doors while trying to suck the air out of their lungs at the same time. It was more than enough motivation for them to move and get themselves into the barn and out of the weather. He helped Jade to pull the door closed, and then let out a cry of surprise as Sabaste, rather than his niece, was standing next to him.

“Hello,” Sabaste smiled pleasantly. Nix jumped back, his fists coming up and ready to fight. “What are you doing here?” Nix cried out in alarm. He began to back up as Sabaste slowly advanced.

“What are you doing, Nix? With your fists up like that, huh? You think you can fight me?” He moved with lightning speed towards Nix, as if he were a burst of steam, jabbing him hard in the ribs and moving away, taking form again. “You think this is a fair fight for you, is that what you think?”

Nix cried out as he was jabbed again. Sabaste was just playing with him. Toying with him like a cat with a mouse, a deadly game that wouldn’t end well for him.

“This time, I think the odds are a little more in my favor.” Sabaste grinned meanly, his eyes sparkling with controlled rage. “You’re not sneaking up on me, trying to get the jump on me like you did when you killed me. You think your friend is going to suddenly show up and save your life?” Sabaste turned into a ball of silver light, and zipped over, knocking into the back of Nix’s left knee, causing him to cry out in alarm and sink down onto it. He took form, and moved to stand before Nix and leaned down. “I have some news for you; your friend isn’t coming to save you. In fact, once Lance gets done with him, he’ll find out if there’s an afterlife to the afterlife,” He said, taking a handful of Nix’s braid. “I’m actually getting tired of that phrase, Lance says that a lot, you know? He’s like a broken recor—.”

“Kill me,” Nix interrupted Sabaste with a low hiss. His head was tilted to the side from the force of the hold Sabaste had on his braid.

Sabaste leaned closer to Nix. “I’m sorry, did you say something?”

Nix lifted his face, fury dancing in his amber eyes as he pinned Sabaste with a rage filled glare. “I said kill me,” he growled. “That way, I will spend the next thousand years making you sorry you ever came here.”

“I’m sorry,” Sabaste said as he squatted down closer. He put his fingers beneath Nix’s chin, but then had to grab it forcefully when Nix jerked his face away. “I’m sorry,” he repeated, a little louder this time. “But that’s not how it’s going to happen. See, you killed me, do you understand that you filthy traitor? You killed me and now, I’m going to make you pay. Easy as that, man. And you will pay. It’s way too soon for you to be begging for death.”

“I didn’t kill you, you dumb shit head, if you used an ounce of intelligence, you’d know I’d never kill you,” Nix growled.

“See, I don’t know that. But, of course, I’m dead, and your face was the last thing I saw before I died, well, that and the big ass shotgun.” Sabaste made a soft hissing sound, as if weighing a heavy decision. “Maybe I’m not wrong in this, because, otherwise, why would your face be the last thing I saw before I died? Huh?”

“I don’t know,” Nix said. Moments later, Sabaste’s fist came down, but Nix was ready. He jerked his face away and rolled, his healing ribs singing in pain as he hit the hard ground. In this brief moment of freedom, he readied himself to take his chance.

“Oh no you don’t!” Sabaste yelled as he moved after Nix so he could stomp him again.

“Watch me,” Nix said as he scrambled to his feet and bolted for the door. The latch ruptured with the force of his body colliding into it, and the old wood spilled him out into the storm. Rain began to fall hard, surrounding Nix in a wet curtain. He was grateful because he realized that within it, he was hidden from Sabaste, who exploded out of the barn behind him.

“Where are you?” Sabaste called loudly. “Come back and fight me like a man!”

Ducking down into the tall grass, Nix realized that the rain had begun to fall even harder, dropping visibility down to nearly zero. It was almost impossible for him to see his hand before his face, so he knew he was lucky when Sabaste passed by him, yelling loudly for Nix to come out and play. When the angry spirit circled back, only to pass by him again, Nix crawled through the grass, hoping he was headed in the right direction. When he got to the road, he turned to his left and moved quickly, knowing he was going in the right direction because he was traveling slightly uphill. Thunder boomed and the wind picked up, screaming around him. He found Billy’s drive by the sound of the trees as they bent to the gale force and he made his way up quickly. A branch snapped, falling behind him, the slender boughs holding fall leaves striking him in the back.

“Come out, come out, where ever you are!” Sabaste called, and then laughed like a manic before ending it with a wolf howl. “Nikki!” Sabaste called. He was now standing in the middle of the front yard. “Where are you?”

Nix moved slowly past him, hoping the rain wouldn’t suddenly decide to let up and expose him. Instead, impossibly, it fell even harder and Nix briefly wondered if a man could drown standing straight up in a downpour. When he reached the house, he slipped in as quietly as he could, and then grasped the knob of the laundry room door after taking one last look over his shoulder to make sure Sabaste hadn’t seen him enter the house. The last thing he needed to do at that moment was waste any time, but his clothes were clinging to him, hindering his movement and he needed to be as agile as he could be against his friend. Thankfully, Kelly had yelled at him across the yard that morning that his clothes were folded and ready to be taken home. Nix wasn’t expecting to see her lying flat on her back in front of the washer and dryer. He moved quickly to her side, pressing his fingers against the side of her neck. Her pulse was strong, so he grabbed one of the folded towels sitting in the laundry basket and put it beneath her head before peeling out of his clothes and changing into dry ones.

“Kelly, I need you to wake up,” Nix whispered as he took her hand gently, rubbing it. “Kelly… c’mon, wake up.”

“What?” Kelly whispered thickly, and then groaned at the pain in her head. “What?”

“Ssssh, I need you to be very quiet,” Nix whispered.

“Did the storm get us? Why does my head hurt?” she asked thickly.

“Kelly, we’re in danger, I need you to be very quiet, do you understand that?”

“Danger?”

“Not from the storm, but from two ghosts who are trying to kill us.”

“Our boys?” she asked in confusion.

“No, not our boys, two others who are here to cause trouble. I want you to stay here, be very quiet and don’t come out until I give you a password.” He leaned forward and breathed in her ear. “If you hear me say, “I love Ade’s chair”, it’s safe to come out, do you understand?”

Kelly nodded her head softly, and then grimaced and put her hand against the back of it. “Jade…” she said slowly. “Nick… Jade… she hit me…”

Nix shook his head slowly. “It wasn’t Jade, Kelly. It was Sabaste, pretending to be Jade to get to me.” He held her face gently. “Do you remember the password?”

“I love Ade’s chair…” Kelly whispered, looking at Nix with a mix of wide-eyed fear and shock.

“Don’t make a sound unless you hear me say that.”

*****

The lights dimmed down for a moment, and then came back up brighter than ever. It was all Lance needed to see Jade as she huddled against the shelves where she held the box protectively against her chest. Panic crossed his face as he held his hand out to her. “That’s dangerous, Jade, please give that to me, before you end up getting hurt.”

“No! It’s mine!”

“That’s dangerous, Jade, let me have it before you get yourself hurt.”

“I won’t get hurt, I made it! And you’re not Gregg!”

Lance’s face began to contort as he fought hard to retain Gregg’s appearance. Along with the strange visual effect, a horrible sound accompanied it. He smiled as he gave up and began to transform back into his original body. “No, I’m not Gregg,” he said. “You’re a smart girl, you’ve got great instincts. I tell you, I’d never get you into my car, no matter what tricks I used.” He moved closer to her, his eyes going back to the box. “Just come with me, and I promise you won’t get hurt. I just want to put you in a safe place, because me and Holmes are going to have a nice little talk.”

“Get away from me…” Jade hissed as she sidestepped along the wall.

“Where did the little ones go?” Lance asked as he sidestepped with her in what he fancied was a demented and fear-filled waltz.

“I don’t know, maybe they’re hiding under their beds.”

“Aww, I love hide and seek! It’s a great game,” Lance smiled.

Jade clutched the box tighter to her chest, feeling it pulse and vibrate with pure fury. It was like holding an angry beehive, and it was buzzing so hard she could feel her very lungs vibrate.

“Give me the box.” Lance said, his eyes growing dark with rage.

“This?” She gripped the box tighter in her hand. “You want this?” Her lips pulled back in a snarl. Years of being picked on at school, and fighting with her sister, as well as playing lacrosse had giving her a powerful throwing arm. She redefined what it meant to throw like a girl. After one Parent conference in 6th grade, after she threw a book at a kid’s throat who had bullied her relentlessly until she could take no more, her dad commented on the way home about her deadly aim, ‘Snipers aim’, he had called it.

“Here, have it!” She wound up her arm, and launched the small box at Lance, aiming for the spot right between his eyes. In the small room, the full power of her arm was zeroed in on his face and it struck right on target. Lance recoiling in shock, pain and blood and glass flying everywhere. He staggered backwards, his head hitting the wall with a hard clunk, berating himself for being in a physical form in anticipation of snatching her.