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.