My heart slammed in my chest as fear clawed at me. There was no chill.
Hades began to bark from downstairs. The edges of the twins were slightly blurred. I stepped towards them, trying to stay calm. They watched me with dead black eyes. Their edges blurred even more as I stepped closer.
Still no chill. Nothing that told me they were souls, but something new was going off in my head. Information from somewhere.
“You aren’t ghosts,” I said out loud. My heart began to race. Their heads tilted in sync, to the exact same angle. It felt… evil. More evil than the Shadow Men. More evil than I’d ever known. It was something… something that never... “No… you’re something old. Something that was never human.” Something that simply existed to destroy. “Get them out.”
“Lexie?” Miles’ voice was quiet.
“Get. Them. Out,” I whispered, not taking my eyes off the lie it was throwing to fool me and Mia.
The boys led the girls out of the room and started getting them down the hallway. Isaac stayed with me.
“That’s them,” Mia said.
The things’ eyes stayed on me. My breathing grew faster. Good, as long as I had its attention they could get out. They smiled in unison. My gut knotted as their forms blurred even more. Their forms began merging together into a pitch-black fog. I swallowed hard. Glowing, blood-red eyes watched me from the fog. A bead of sweat ran down my spine; my skin crawled. The air grew thicker with the stench of sulfur.
“Run,” I told Isaac. The fog formed into a long-limbed shadow with long, pointed ears. I backed up, making my way to the stairs.
The fog charged.
Adrenaline shot through me as I tried to run. A wall of icy air hit me hard. I was off my feet, spun, then hit the wall. I cried out as pain shot through my back and down my legs. The sweat on my skin froze. I was suddenly shivering. Its hands grabbed me, its claws digging into my skin. Searing pain tore through my arms as its eyes filled my vision.
“You’re mine.” A deep, terrifying voice moved through my mind. Paws ran up the stairs.
“Fuck you,” I growled.
Black, tar-like smoke poured into my mind. Images flashed, memories.
Blood, death, pain, Dad, Mom, Clay…
Hades growled and barked. It roared. The house shook; glass shattered.
I dropped, not knowing where I was. I lay there, trembling and shivering on the hard floor, my vision fading in and out.
Arms grabbed me, and the scent of limes reached my nose. “Come on, Lexie.” Isaac’s honey-like voice made me aware. I was limp as he gathered me in his arms and started moving.
“What happened?” Zeke bellowed.
“Take her, I’ll get Hades!” Isaac shouted as he reached the stairs. Demonic laughter echoed through the house as he handed me off to Zeke. Zeke started moving, but all I kept seeing were those images running through my head. Everyone I loved, dead. And me standing above their bodies, blood soaking my hands.
Zeke hit the first floor and ran out into the heat. My clothes grew damp as my sweat melted. Isaac wasn’t far behind with Hades. When we reached the lawn, everyone stopped. Zeke set me down on the grass. Hades moved to my side and pressed against me, his warmth comforting.
“What the hell happened in there?” Asher demanded.
I was looking down at Dad in his coffin.
“Why did we run?” Mia asked.
Mom was beating me with the belt.
Calloused hands touched my face. “Miles!” Zeke barked.
Clay was dragging me back to the cabin.
“Lexie?” Miles’ voice was gentle as his hand lifted my chin. I kept my eyes closed as I fought back memories.
I took his hand that was on my chin and squeezed. “Give me a minute,” I whispered. His hand squeezed mine. Hades pressed harder against me as my insides shook.
“Zeke, your handkerchief?” Miles asked.
Zeke cursed. Miles gently cleaned under my nose. “Lexie?” I couldn’t answer, I was still struggling to push those images away.
The black smoke was gone, but the memories kept coming. Yes, they happened. Every memory sucked. But I was alive. I continued to remind myself of that as I fought to come out of it.
“Lexie, come on. Tell us what to do,” Ethan demanded.
Finally, I was able to push them back. They were still there, waiting for me to relax, but they were back far enough that I could think.
I blinked up at them, my head pounding. It felt like someone had gone at my brains with a whisk. “I’m here,” I told him. “Just…” I swallowed back tears. “Just give me another minute.”
Miles saw the tears in my eyes. The fear. He squeezed my hand and turned to Isaac. “What happened once we got the others out?”
I used the time he gave me to try and pull myself together. Fear was choking me, making it hard to breath. Come on Lexie…
“Whatever was there… threw her into the wall and held her three feet off the fucking ground. I couldn’t see shit,” Isaac growled.
Miles began wiping the blood off my arms. “You’re cut, Lexie. And you’ve been burned.”
Zeke cursed.
Pull it together. There’s a kid who needs your help. Remember her? “It’s a demon. At least, I think it is,” I told them, taking Zeke’s handkerchief from Miles and holding it to my nose.
“What?” Asher asked, his voice full of disbelief.
“It’s old, and it’s never been human. It feels evil,” I explained, my fear rising again. “I think it’s a demon.” A demon that had just pulled out every horrible memory I had and paraded it in front of me. I pulled the cloth from my nose and looked at the house. I didn’t want to go back inside. It was a stupid move. Beyond stupid. But that demon just pissed me off. I could use pissed off, it was better than scared any day.
Head still pounding, I got to my feet and headed for the door.
Zeke grabbed my arm and pulled me to a stop. “Where do you think you are going?”
“To kick its ass out,” I growled up at him.
“No, you’re not,” he snapped, his fingers tightening on my arm. “No one is going back inside.”
“Oh, yes I am,” I shot back. “That fucker went after a kid. I’m giving it an eviction notice.” Couldn’t he see I needed to do this?
“How?” he growled.
“I brought supplies in my bag.” I went to walk away; he didn’t let go.
“Lexie,” he warned.
I turned back and met his eyes. “Don’t even try.”
He glared at me. “Not alone.” The look in his eyes told me he wasn’t budging.
“Fine,” I grumbled. He let go of my arm.
“What are you two doing?” Asher asked.
I turned to him. “I gotta go back in. And Zeke won’t let me go alone.”
Miles’ eyes went to the cuts on my arms and then my eyes. “Do you think that’s a good idea?”
“It’s the only way to get rid of it.” I turned and headed for the door. Hades followed. I stepped inside and grabbed my bag. I rummaged through it until I found what I was looking for. Holy water, and a jar of black salt.
I started by sprinkling holy water in the corner of every room. Then, starting from the attic, I sprinkled a pinch of black salt in the center of each room. The entire time, my heart raced and my hands trembled. Zeke and Hades followed me like shadows. When we reached the living room again, I pulled out a smudging stick.
“Why are we going up and down the house?” he asked.
I picked up my bag. “The holy water is to get the demon out, the black salt is to cleanse the entire area so it won’t have a hold on the house, and the sage puts up a barrier against it.”
“You really have done your homework.”
We walked out of the house. I met Cara and Mia on the porch. I handed her the sage. “Okay, that should work. But tonight, after your parents are in the house and in bed, light the sage and move the smoke over the doorways and windows. It’ll create a barrier throughout the house.”
“Are you sure it’s gone?” Cara asked, her voice shaking.
“I think so. I didn’t feel or see anything inside, and Hades didn’t bark,” I told her, “so you should be clear. If not, call Keith or Travis and they’ll get a hold of me.”
Cara nodded, her eyes watering. “Thank you so much.”