Twisted Sisters (The Orion Circle Book 2) (14 page)

Moments later the horrible pain disappears, and I feel light, like I could float away. I open my eyes to find myself floating above the people clustered around my battered body. A beautiful light appears, rainbow, warm and welcoming. I’m drawn toward the light. Peace lies beyond, I’m sure. I drift forward until a terrible scream cuts through my reverie. Angela and Tracy, they’re still suffering‌—‌I have to help. When I pull away from the light, I feel a rough tearing sensation, like ripping a bandage from a raw, weeping wound.

I abandoned my friends once; I won’t do it again…

Chapter Seventeen — Retreat

Chapter Seventeen

Retreat

Kacie

Logan sinks the ground, his knee bending at an awkward angle. Daniel and I each take one of his arms, helping him into a more comfortable position. I kneel beside him, wrapping my arms around his shoulders to lend my strength. Allowing a partial possession is not only draining, it can be downright dangerous. He groans before rubbing a hand across his forehead. The psychic shield we had managed to form is tenuous at best as Logan’s blue aura pulses and fades. We’re running out of time.

Logan coughs and leans back against me. “I know now. I understand.”

“Shh, rest for a minute.”

Logan struggles when I try to lean him further back. Instead he leans forward. “Renee, you did nothing wrong.”

“I-I don’t know—”

Renee is cut off by her livid friend. “You may
think
you know something, but you know nothing of our suffering!” Her words are punctuated by blasts of icy air, leaving us all shivering.

“You’re r-right.” Logan pushes to his feet. Though he staggers a bit from his injured knee, he waves me away when I try to help him. “There’s no way I could understand what you went through that night. But I do understand what Renee is feeling right now because I’ve been there.”

Renee floats toward Logan. “What?” Her voice is soft, curious.

Tracy laughs, a hard, grating mocking of genuine laughter. “You’re eating this crap up like a hot fudge sundae.”

“It’s not crap, Renee,” Logan says. He closes his eyes for a few moments as though lost in thought. His nostrils flare, leaving me to wonder what horrors he’s remembering. When he opens his eyes, I see nothing but raw determination. Any trace of pain is gone. “I know what you went through, what it’s like to want to help in your mind, yet your body won’t cooperate.”

Renee gasps. “You do know.”

“Yes.” Logan takes a couple steps forward. “I also know that there was nothing you could have done. Running outside was the best way to get help. If you’d run back to Tracy,
he
would have killed you instead of the cars, but either way you’d still be dead.”

“He’s lying!” Tracy’s form morphs, becoming darker, distorted. “You left me to die with that monster. You ran away.”

“I’m sorry, I-I was so scared. My body took control of me, and I ran.” Renee backs away from Tracy.

“She refused to go into the light when it appeared for her.” Logan’s voice is calm and soothing. “Tracy, she stayed for you. Instead of going into the light, she went back to the house. For you.”

“No, she abandoned me—”

Logan cuts Tracy off. “No, she didn’t.”

He glances at me before patting my hand and unwinding my arm from his. His eyes are haunted, from the vision or an awful memory, I’m not sure. When I open my mouth to ask, he shakes his head. He’s right, now isn’t the time.

“Angela?” Renee calls her in a hesitant voice.

“I’m here, Renee.” Angela steps forward until she’s only inches from the looming spirits.

Renee’s ethereal form morphs again, becoming lighter and more human. “I never really blamed you. You were a victim too.”

“I brought—”

“I know, but it’s okay. He used you in the worst way possible.” Renee reaches out a vaporous limb. “Try to forgive yourself. You don’t deserve the pain you’ve suffered.”

Tears fill Angela’s eyes and several spill over to run down her cheeks. “Still, I’m sorry. I think about you every single day. Please move on and find peace.”

“I will.” Her wispy hand appears to caress Angela’s cheek then fades away to nothing.

“Is she…” I trail off, my eyes scanning the room. The air is still, as though waiting for something… but what?

“Gone?” Tracy’s voice cuts through silence. “Yeah, she’s
gone
. Abandoned me again!”

Her frustrated screams echo around us, vibrating the air and sending a blender crashing to the floor. I stare at the shattered pieces while trying to calm my racing heart. A rank stench fills the air, like rotten eggs… perhaps sulfur. It fills my nostrils, burning them. My eyes water. The floor shakes, and I lose my footing, falling against Logan. He stumbles, catching me despite his injured knee. When I glance back to make sure Daniel and Angela are okay, I’m not surprised to see them inching backward away from the maniacal shrieking.

“Tortured, murdered, flayed, broken!” Her volume increases with each shouted word. “Then to return, only to be abandoned by the only, the
only,
two people who knew what I went through‌—‌what we went through.”

Logan steps forward, pushing me behind him. “We can talk—”

“Talk?”

The dark gray form morphs again until it barely resembles the form of a person. Her spirit grows until it creeps along the ceiling to tower over us. As long, tenuous tendrils reach down, we scuttle backward out of the way.

“While I suffered in life and death,
Angela
got to have a life to live. She caused this and didn’t suffer at all.”

“But I did suffer—”

“Shut your mouth, you filthy bitch!” Tracy darts over to loom over Angela. “You watched that sadistic bastard kill me and did nothing.” She pauses as her form turns inky black. “I will not rest until…” Her words turn into angry, incomprehensible screeching.

Logan grabs my hand. “We need to get out of here… regroup.”

Without another word, we race from the house. As we spill out, Angela trips on the striped tent, falling to the ground. Blake appears and hauls her body up and out of the way. His sudden movements still shock me at times, and of course this is one of them. I pause in the doorway, only to be thrown forward when it slams closed. After stumbling a few times, I regain my footing and follow the others away from that cursed house.

Angela trudges from the car to her door, her shoulders slumped and her steps slow. The twin cats
meow
together, sorrowful, as they watch her retreating form. Daniel kisses her cheek before closing the door and heading back to the car. My eyes burn, and I bite my lip to keep the tears at bay. She thinks she failed because we couldn’t cross Tracy. No matter what anyone said about how we saved Amy and Renee, Angela only focused on her failure. Perhaps that’s why she never recovered from the madness forty years ago… because she couldn’t see past the negative to anything positive.

To make matters worse, Samson and Delilah have chosen Logan as their new master. Poor Angela doesn’t even have the comfort of her familiars.

When Logan takes my hand and curls his fingers around mine, I allow a few silent tears to fall. Four lives were lost that night, not three. Everyone forgets the victim who lived, who suffered years of tormented memories made worse by—

“That’s it!” My exclamation rings through the silence in the car.

Rebecca glances at me over her shoulder from the front seat. “Huh?”

“Tracy thinks that Angela didn’t suffer, that she can’t understand. We need to make Tracy see what Angela’s been through.”

Daniel sighs. “Angela is broken, Cici. We can’t involve her anymore.”

Logan glances at me, raw pain in his eyes. “I took her pets…”

“They’re familiars… they decide where to go.” I squeeze his hand, but the sadness remains.

“She told me she loves dogs and has always wanted one,” Daniel says. “Let’s get her a dog.”

Rebecca snorts. “You can’t just get a pet for someone.”

“Of course you can.” Daniel taps a beat on the steering wheel. “A goldendoodle like Kodiak would be perfect.”

“What do you two think?” Logan asks the cats swirling around our ankles. They
meow
in unison, a cheerful, bright sound. “I think they agree.” He turns to me with a hopeful look. “Can you find a goldendoodle? Not a puppy, but an older dog?”

I think about my goldendoodle, Kodiak, and have to admit that a dog like that would be great for Angela. “I’ll do my best. There are lots of rescues… surely someone has a golden or labradoodle in need of a good home.”

Daniel pulls to a stop at my house. As I open the door to get out, Samson and Delilah try to follow me.

Logan gathers the two in his arms. “This isn’t our stop yet.”

They mewl and settle down, watching me with wide, unblinking eyes. “I’ll have Dad or Gavin drop me at your house later for the meeting.”

Logan nods. “Six o’clock. I’ll order pizza. Pepperoni and peppers?”

“You know what I like.” I lean in and give him a quick kiss goodbye. “I’m in the mood for jalapenos tonight.”

“Spicy. I like it,” Logan murmurs against my lips.

Daniel makes a shooing motion at me, and I back away from the car. “See ya in a few.”

I watch them drive away while my crows circle overhead. Before the neighbors can notice the odd gathering above me, I race into the house.

Chapter Eighteen — Premonition

Chapter Eighteen

Premonition

Logan

Laughter shakes my body making me wince from the pain searing through my side. With a click of the remote, I turn off the TV. No more comedies until I’m healed.

Mom wrings her hands while darting between tidying the family room and plumping the pillows behind my back. She sucks in a breath before racing to the kitchen. When she returns, she has my tarot deck in her shaking hands.

“Premonition.” Her voice is as shaky as her hands as she places the deck on my lap. “A reading. Now.”

“Mom, I—”

“Don’t argue. Do a reading. Now.”

I shuffle the worn deck, once, twice, three times. “How many cards?”

“Just three. Hurry.”

The first card I turn over is the Five of Swords. Not surprising at all. “Defeat.” Not a great card, but given the events of the day it’s appropriate. My hand trembles over the next card. I know what it is without turning it, but I flip it over anyway. The Tower. Trials, tribulations, and turmoil. Craptastic. Without waiting, I flip over the third card. Nine of Swords. “Anguish.” There are few tarot readings that I can’t but a hopeful spin on… but with these three cards together, I just can’t see it. I glance up at Mom, my heart racing at the fear reflected in her eyes.

“What happens if a ghost kills someone?”

Before the Foxblood Demon, before the power I witnessed today, I’d have said it was impossible. But now… “I don’t know. Why do you ask?” The tremor in my voice gives away the unease I’m trying to hide.
What isn’t she telling me?

She doesn’t answer. Instead she whips out her cell phone. “Roger? It’s Marianne. I had a premonition… a bad one.” Silence stretches out as she listens to him speak. “Yes, get everyone here as soon as possible. We need to do something before midnight.” More silence. “Pour a rim of salt around the pool where the spirit board rests. Remember that blackberry wreath I gave Anna for Christmas last year? Float that on the pool. It will help keep the spirit from accessing any power from the board.”