CHAPTER TWENTY
Jess listened as Mrs. Hirsch’s footsteps grew more distant. She should move, step back. But she didn’t want to. Gage stood in place, staring at her. It was now or never. She leaned forward and kissed him, gently at first since she wasn’t quite sure what his reaction might be. He kissed her back as he pulled her more tightly against him, sending heat and adrenaline coursing through her body, and apparently through Gage’s, as well.
His breath quickened as he kissed her lips, her neck. “Jess,” he whispered, sending her pulse into high gear. She ran her hands over his well-defined arms as his hands twined through her hair, cupping her head. Jess didn’t want to ask herself what she was doing—she hadn’t known Gage that long or that well. She simply couldn’t resist. Being so close to him, feeling his breath against her skin, tasting those lips she found so inviting…
Her hands traced their way up his well-muscled chest. She leaned back a little as his mouth traveled down her neck again to her collarbone. Jess let out a groan of pleasure.
“Beautiful,” Gage whispered as his hands slid up under her top. She tugged at his shirt.
It took a second before they both registered the commotion, breaking the moment between them.
“What the hell?” Gage said somewhat breathlessly.
“Someone’s yelling,” Jess replied.
Gage was already in motion, out from under the sheets with Jess right behind him. From somewhere in the house the screaming and yelling continued. The furniture became an obstacle course as the made their way across the room. Finally, they ran into the hallway. Above them, the floorboards creaked with Mrs. Hirsch’s footfalls.
“Quick!” Jess said, carefully closing the door behind them, the soft snick of the door latch louder than she’d hoped. They ran down the hallway and raced down the stairs and to the room Gage shared with Bryan. Gage pulled up as he reached the doorway and Jess collided into him.
Bryan lay on the bed, surrounded by knives. Jess had no idea how many knives the kitchen had, but it looked like every one of them was here on the bed, tips pointing at Bryan. Jess’s knees wanted to buckle beneath her and her hands flew to her mouth. The scene reminded her of the vision in the mirror, except that Bryan was alive.
Dr. Brandt paced the room. “Make them go away, Bryan. Do it!”
“I—I can’t!” Bryan yelled. “It’s Allison! Make her stop it!”
“It’s not me!” Allison shouted. “I’m trying to make him stop!”
“Bryan,” Gage said calmly. “Just get up. Nice and slow…”
Bryan shook his head. “I don’t think I can,” he replied, voice shaky.
“What happened?” Jess asked, her eyes darting to Allison, who sat in a chair in the corner. She still wore her pajama shorts and top and her arms were wrapped tightly around her legs.
Were the demons back? Was Allison somehow doing this to Bryan?
Mrs. Hirsch burst through the doorway, shoving Jess and Gage aside like bowling pins. Her eyebrows were knitted together, making her perpetual scowl even more pronounced. “What is going on here!” she demanded. She eyed them all darkly.
“It’s perfectly fine, Mrs. Hirsch,” Dr. Brandt said. “We have a little experiment going on. It’s all under control.”
“Under control? Well you’re taking it too far!” She reached out to retrieve one of the knives but they soared upright, their blades hovering directly over Bryan.
She gasped, then clutched the chain around her neck and the pendant that hung from it. She spun around to face Dr. Brandt. “Freaks!” she spat. “I warned you! I said bringing them here wasn’t a good idea, that you should call the whole thing off!”
“Mrs. Hirsch,” Dr. Brandt said, his tone edged with warning. “Go back to your duties. Or your room. Now.”
Her eyes narrowed. Without another word, she stormed from the room.
Everyone turned their attention back to Bryan and the knives dangling above him.
“Make her stop it,” Bryan said, motioning to Allison.
“I told you I’m not doing it!” Allison repeated.
“Then why were you here? You were here when I woke up!”
“Because I knew he’d be here!”
“Who?” Jess nearly shouted. “Who’d be here?”
“Slow down!” Gage said. “We’ll figure it all out, but first, let’s work on getting the knives away from Bryan.
“And us,” Dr. Brandt added. “Wouldn’t take much for the knives to change direction.”
“Allison?” Jess said as soothingly as she could. “Can you put the knives down someplace safe?”
From upstairs, the sound of piano keys echoed, the house seemingly using the air vents as its own speaker system.
She cut off their tails with a carving knife,
Have you ever seen such a sight in your life…
“It’s the same tune from the other day in the basement,” Jess said, no longer able to keep her voice from trembling.
“Allison, it’s okay. No one is going to hurt you,” Dr. Brandt coaxed. “Just make it stop, okay? You can control them. Bryan can’t focus on this many objects at once.”
Or under this kind of pressure, Jess thought.
Allison shook her head. Tears streamed down her cheek. “I’m not possessed! It’s Riley. He’s doing it.”
“There’s no one else here!” Bryan said. His outburst caused the knives to drop a few inches closer.
“Chill, okay?” Gage said, taking a step toward Bryan. “Let’s all stay calm.”
Jess believed Allison—she wasn’t doing this. If the demons were back, Allison would have said so—that much, she was sure of. It had to be Riley. “Where is he, Allison? Where’s Riley?”
“In there.” Allison raised a trembling hand and pointed toward the dresser mirror.
Gage shook his head. “I got nothing.”
Jess stepped closer to the mirror despite the pounding in her heart telling her to stay away. The same dark hair and eyes that had looked back at her in the basement stared at her from within this mirror. Riley’s skin was pale and his complexion gaunt. Jess looked over her shoulder, but found only Dr. Brandt and Gage standing behind her. Allison still sat in the chair. The knives still hung over Bryan. The only difference was that in the mirror, Riley was crouched on the end of Bryan’s bed.
“Oh my God,” Jess said softly.
“Lord Riley would have sufficed, but…if you insist,” Riley said. He twirled a finger and the knives spun around, too.
“No one else sees this, do they?” Jess asked, keeping her eyes on the mirror. She didn’t want to turn her attention from Riley. His features seemed off just enough—just a little here and there. His eyes were solid black, void of the whites around his irises. His face seemed too long, the cheekbones a bit too pronounced. His facial features human, but not.
“Allison is telling the truth. She’s not doing this. Does anyone else see Riley?” Jess repeated.
“No,” everyone replied. Everyone except Allison.
“Is it the demons?” Dr. Brandt asked. “Allison? Are the demons back? Are you sure one isn’t inside you? Maybe Riley is a demon now. Tell him to put the knives down. You can do this,” Dr. Brandt said. “Order the demon to do as you ask.”
Inside the mirror, Riley growled. The sound was neither human nor animal and fear danced up Jess’s spine.
“I can’t!” Allison wailed. Her eyes turned to Jess and then to Bryan. Dr. Brandt paced some more, his expression both frightened and yet…exhilarated. Jess gave Gage a quick glance.
His expression was a definite told you he was losing it.
Corporation, government experiment, the house taking over Dr. Brandt or whatever else it might be, Jess couldn’t allow Riley to hurt Bryan. Her heart raced wildly. Every part of her wanted to turn and run, not take a step closer to the mirror. “Leave. Him. Alone, Riley!”
Riley grinned. His teeth were dark and thin.
“Now!” Jess demanded.
Almost instantly, Riley stood directly on the other side of the glass, his dark eyes glittering. She could see Bryan lying on the bed behind Riley’s image. “What will you give me, Jessss?”
“What do you want?” She tried to sound defiant, but took a step back.
Riley grinned. “Why a queen, of course. For now, I’m just a dark prince. But if I had a queen, I could be king. You’ll do. So pretty. Is it a deal? A kingdom isn’t complete without a queen. Help me become king, Jesssss. We’ll rule Siler House and all those within.”
“Stay away from me!” Jess managed to say.
“Don’t you want a family, Jess?” Riley leaned against the mirror and it pitted where his fingers touched the glass. “Don’t you want a family that will always be there for you? We’ll never die, Jess. No one here will ever leave you. Not like your father or grandmother. We’ll all stay here. Together. Forever.”
“Look at the fingerprints!” Dr. Brandt exclaimed. “My God, he’s really there!” He turned to Jess and Allison. “You’ve done it, you’ve actually done it!”
Jess wasn’t sure who made her flesh crawl more—Riley or Dr. Brandt. He didn’t seem scared. He seemed overly excited at the prospect of finally getting Riley to show himself.
“Jess?” Gage stepped closer to her. “Talk to me, Jess.”
“Why don’t you have lover boy bring me out?” Riley coaxed. “Oh, yes! I know.” Riley bent forward and his eyes glittered beneath stringy hair. “I didn’t see it since…” He tapered off, the smile fading from his lips. “But I can hear through the walls. It sounded like fun.” His mouth crooked into a menacing grin. “Are you having fun, Jess? Are you having fun with Gage?”
Jess hated the way he said her name with the snake-like hiss at the end. She stepped back, coming to rest against Gage.
“A little translation here?” Gage asked warily. “You girls are the only ones with Riley Vision. What’s he saying?”
“He watches through the mirrors,” Allison told him. “I don’t know why he’s trapped in the mirrors when the others aren’t.”
“So he’s traveling through the mirrors?” Gage asked.
Allison nodded. “He’s been watching us sleep.” Her eyes cut to Jess’s. “It’s why I’ve been up at night.”
Jess recalled when she had thought someone was watching her and shivered.
“Bryan,” Dr. Brandt said. “Concentrate. Concentrate on sending Riley away.”
Bryan closed his eyes and he mouthed the words go away over and over. Riley paced in out of view a few times.
Allison got to her feet and walked over to Bryan. She leaned close to him and whispered something in his ear. For a moment, Jess thought Bryan would pull away from Allison’s touch. She might not have caused the knives to hover or made Riley appear in the mirror, but Bryan was a bit freaked out. He listened, and nodded.
“Go away!” Bryan said, anger in his voice. Nothing happened. He repeated his words, louder this time. “I said, go away!”
“Oh, hell. Run!” Gage yelled. He grabbed Jess by the arm as he bolted for the door.
The knives rose upward, the tips of their blades facing outward. Seemingly no longer captive, Bryan was on his feet and running.
Jess screamed as a large knife flew past them and vanished as it hit the wall. She hurried into the hallway after the others.
“What just happened?” she nearly shrieked.
“They’re gone,” Bryan said, voice shaking. “I don’t know how, but I think they’re gone.”
Dr. Brandt walked back into the room. Jess and the others didn’t move. From inside it, he laughed. “You did it, Bryan! You did it!”
Gage reentered the room with Jess right behind him. Allison came as far as the doorway, but no farther.
Every knife was gone—vanished into thin air. Bryan stood beside Gage, his face an ashen gray.
Jess looked into the mirror. Riley was still there. “I’ll leave. For now,” he said. “But not because of him.” He glanced Bryan’s way. “Because you’re not ready. Make no mistake, my Jess. You will be ready. All of you. Soon.” He turned and walked off the edge of the mirror and out of view.
“He’s gone,” Jess said.
“The question is whether we can get him back,” Dr. Brandt said.
“What?” Gage looked at him, incredulous. “Get him back?”
“He’s not gone!” Allison cried. “Just because Jess or I don’t see him doesn’t mean he’s not there.”
Everyone stared into the mirror.
“Is he still there?” Bryan asked.
Jess studied the glass. “I think he’s gone. But, Allison’s right. He probably moved to a different one.”
“Then we’ll smash all the mirrors,” Gage said.
“That won’t do any good,” Allison replied. “Don’t you guys get it? He’s in the house! He’s in the walls and ceilings. He’s in the attic, the basement. Even the floors!”
“We’ll have to do something about that,” Dr. Brandt said. “But first, we need to draw him out.”