Twisted Sisters (The Orion Circle Book 2) (9 page)

“Yeah, she mentioned last time too.” Blake crosses his arms over his chest. “Anyone care to share just exactly what is going on here?”

“Those spirits invaded my mind,” I reply, closing my eyes against the sharp pain as Mr. Kincaid continues to clean my arm. “I shut them out but not quickly enough. They picked up on the Foxblood Demon and my fear. I’ll never forget what it felt like when he plowed into me… so much evil.”

Shudders wrack my body, and Logan scoots closer with a small grunt of pain. He wraps his arm around my shoulders. “Shh, it’s okay, baby,” he coos in my ear. “I’m here. We’re all here.”

Tears burn my eyes, and I tamp down the memories, refusing to cry over that evil demon of a spirit. “I know. Just give me a minute. Those ghosts are really good at drawing out the memories and anguish associated with them.”

“Tell me about it,” Daniel mutters.

“Well they aren’t ghosts so much as wraiths,” Rebecca says, poking her head up from her laptop.

Carl scrunches his forehead. “I thought wraith was just the Scottish word for ghost.”

“It is, sort of,” Rebecca replies, shrugging. “I’d call these three revenants, but they weren’t evil people in life as far as I know. A wraith is a ghost with malicious intentions. They typically feed on human fear and despair.”

“What are revenants?” Carl asks.

“Irrelevant,” Rebecca says, giving Carl a hard glare.

“No it isn’t,” Raven says, turning to Carl. “He needs to learn and it’s a quick answer. A revenant is the spirit of an evil person. They strive to create havoc and destruction in life as well as death.”

“So, the Foxblood Demon—”

Rebecca cuts off Carl’s question. “No. See, it’s never an easy answer with him.”

Raven ignores her and continues the explanation. “The Foxblood Demon was an evil spirit, yes, but not a revenant. Revenants are mindless spirits bent on destruction. The Foxblood Demon was well aware of everything he was doing. He was a demonic spirit. I have a book you can borrow that explains this rather well.”

“Thanks, Raven,” Carl murmurs, looking like a dog that’s been kicked too many times.

“Don’t feel bad, Carl,” Raven says. “I didn’t know much about ghosts when I arrived a couple months ago. I just happened to finish that book last night.”

“Well, if we’re all done coddling Carl…” Rebecca trails off, her jaw clenched.

Something happened between those two. I peer around Mr. Kincaid who is still cleaning my arm. Rebecca glances at Carl from the corner of her eye. When she sees his hangdog expression, her face softens.

“Sorry, I’m going on no sleep,” Rebecca says, patting Carl’s leg.

“I’ll get you a Coke.” Carl jumps to his feet and races into the kitchen. He’s back seconds later. “Here.”

Rebecca’s fingers brush Carl’s as she takes the can from his hands. “Thanks.”

Hmm, looks like I’ll need to corner her later to find out what’s going on with her and Carl. I always thought they’d make a great couple.

“Well, that about does it,” Mr. Kincaid says, inspecting my arm. “The elbow took the brunt of it. Can you bend it?”

I bend it back and forth a few times, wincing at the sharp pain. “Maybe I’ll take it easy for a day or two.”

“Raven, will you wrap her elbow in a bandage while I clean up the mess?” Mr. Kincaid doesn’t stop long enough to hear her answer. He gathers the bloody gauze and disappears into the kitchen.

“Rhetorical question, I guess,” Raven mumbles as she winds the gauze around my arm. “Tell me if it gets too tight.”

“Okay, so Logan and I both found some interesting info that should help,” Rebecca says, her voice back to its normal cheerfulness. Oh, caffeine, the miracle worker. “So we know why the ghosts are gaining in strength. I mean a whole sorority to feed from would give them a big boost. What I couldn’t figure out is why they came through so strong in the first place.”

“It’s odd, huh,” I say, glad someone is finally voicing my concern. “Most ghosts are weak at first, gaining in strength as time passes.”

“Hence the normal haunting progression,” Rebecca says with a triumphant smile. “This case fits into my research so well. It’s quite exciting really.”

“Yeah, you hang out for a while pinned to a ceiling, then tell me just how awesome you think it is.” Raven pulls the bandage too tight, and I hiss in a sharp breath. “Sorry.”

“No, what I mean is the normal progression of a haunting.” Damn, Rebecca’s in lecture mode. “A family moves in. Weird things start: footsteps, banging, strange sounds. These tend to increase over time as the spirit grows in power until you have Armageddon, and they call us to help. I think the spirit needs time to charge. Many haunted houses sit vacant, so the spirit loses power over time.”

“It’s an interesting theory,” Mr. Kincaid says. “But this current situation seems to refute your hypothesis.”

Rebecca grins. “No, it just adds a mystery element which I think I may have solved.”

“Are you going to share or just sit there with that stupid smirk on your face?” Daniel asks, pausing in his pacing circuit to stare at Rebecca.

“Geez, no patience. Okay, sometimes when we bless or smudge a house to rid it of hostile entities, they return… with a vengeance.” Rebecca pauses again, glancing around the room. “Where do the hostile spirits go when we force them out?”

“The same place they all go,” Daniel says, his voice tinged with irritation.

“Really?” Rebecca turns her gaze to me. “What do you think, Kacie?”

My fingers drum against my leg as I consider the possibilities. “Well, we send the willing spirits into the light, and from there they go… wherever they’re supposed to, I guess.”

“The light appears when a spirit is ready to move on,” Logan adds, nodding.

“So if we banish an unwilling spirit, the light wouldn’t appear.” Rebecca’s voice is triumphant. “So where does the spirit go?”

Daniel stops pacing and stares at Rebecca. “Purgatory?”

“Or something like that,” Rebecca agrees. “So what if the spirits are trapped in limbo with nothing to do but practice and prepare for their revenge when released?”

“That’s an awful thought,” Raven says with a shudder.

“One ill-thought spirit board game or séance and wham‌—‌the return of a powerful, hostile ghost.” Rebecca slams her laptop closed.

“Well, then we’re kinda screwed,” Logan says with a groan. “If we send those three back to… wherever… then the next time they come back who knows how strong they’ll be.”

“We have to convince them to let go of their anger and move on.” The words sound even more ridiculous aloud than they did in my head before I spoke. “How?”

Rebecca rises from her seat on the floor. “I need to share their story, then we can figure out a way.” She glances at the front door. “But first we need to do something about that spirit board. I don’t want the hostiles listening to our plans.”

Chapter Twelve — Plans

Chapter Twelve

Plans

Logan

After three long phone calls and a whole lot of arguing, we finally come to an agreement. The spirit board will be locked into a safe and lowered into Mr. Kincaid’s pool. Our poor leader isn’t overly happy with this solution, but our haunted relic expert said the metal combined with the deep water is the best way to keep the ghosts from using the board as another portal. Once the spirits are banished, then we can destroy the board. I watch from the patio as the others argue about how to lower the safe into the water with ropes. The thing must weigh a ton. Good thing we have a werewolf helping.

Blake releases a low growl, and the others scramble out of his way. Without pausing, he hefts the heavy safe in his arms and drops it into the pool. It floats on the surface for a few moments before sinking to the bottom.

The minute it sinks below the surface the air feels lighter. I breathe in a deep, cleansing breath, wincing from the pull on my ribs. The negative energy lifts, and the incessant buzzing in my ears ceases.

“Is it just me, or is it a lot easier to breathe now?” Raven asks, taking a loud breath through her mouth.

“Definitely a sensitive,” Kacie says, nodding in agreement. “You may not see or hear spirits, but you can feel their energy.”

“I don’t know if that’s good or bad.” Raven tips her head, deep in thought. “I feel the energy of monsters too. I guess that’s just my superpower.”

“So, is it safe to talk about the ghosts now?” Rebecca asks, glancing between Kacie and me.

“You really don’t feel any change in the air, do you?” I ask, wondering how she can be oblivious to such an obvious change in pressure.

“Nope, not a thing,” Rebecca replies with a frown. “I can’t decide if that’s a good or bad thing.”

“Our ghost friends are gone.” I stare at the safe sitting at the bottom of the pool. “I suppose they’ve returned to the sorority house.”

“Great, then I can tell you all about my research.” Rebecca rubs her hands together, not in a nervous gesture but rather eager. Her excitement is a tad creepy. She disappears through the sliding glass door into the house. Before I can take a step, she pokes her head back out. “Are you coming or not?”

Kacie puts her arm around my waist and grins at me. Without a word, I allow her to assist me on the walk back to the family room. Though, truth be told, I don’t need it. For some reason her actions fill me with warmth, and after the crap I’ve been through, I’m not ready to let go of that. After I’m seated at the sofa with my leg propped up, she leans down and kisses my forehead.

“Need any ice for your knee?” Kacie asks, brushing her fingers through the hair hanging over my left eye. “Maybe a haircut?”

“Ha, funny,” I reply, shaking my head to move the hair back. “You love my hair like this.”

“True. Ice?”

“No, I’m fine.” I pat the sofa and she curls up against my side.

“Is everyone settled yet?” Rebecca asks in an exasperated tone. “Can I get y’all anything? Coffee, doughnuts, a paper?”

Carl lifts his hand in the air like a kid in class. “Actually, I’d like a Coke.”

“Sarcasm, Carl. Learn it,” Rebecca snaps at him. Then she stalks into the kitchen and returns with a can of Coke.

From the shocked expressions of my friends, I guess I’m not the only one thrown by her sudden kindness toward Carl.

“Logan, why don’t you start,” Rebecca orders, back to her commanding self. “You got the ball rolling.”

“Yeah, sure.” I sit up a bit straighter while organizing my thoughts. “I was in bed last night in pain, unable to sleep ‘cause I didn’t want the meds Dr. Hayes prescribed and something occurred to me. The ghosts all sounded like they were from an old episode of
Scooby Doo.
You know, like from the seventies. So I did some digging online and hit the jackpot.”

The dull ache in my side turns into an annoying throb. When I squirm a bit, Kacie leans away looking sheepish.

“Sorry, forgot about your ribs,” she whispers, scooting away.

“No, it’s fine, really.” I don’t want to tell the whole Circle that I need the comfort but… “Can you switch to my other side?”

She switches places with Blake and leans gently against my side. Careful not to move too fast, I place my arm around her, resting it on her shoulders.

“Better?” she asks.

“Better. So, long story short, three girls were killed in and around that sorority house in 1972. The killer was an assistant psych professor who claimed he was conducting research. Our spirits names are Amy, Renee, and Tracy. The professor was either trying to replicate the CIA’s MKUltra experiment or working for them‌—‌not sure. He dosed the three women with dangerous levels of LSD then played horror movie with them. Amy fell down the stairs and broke her neck while running away in terror. Renee ran out into traffic in front of the house in a panic-fueled fugue and was hit by two cars. Tracy… well she was hacked to bits by a meat cleaver or something.”

“No wonder those spirits are so angry,” Raven says, wrapping her arms around her chest. “What an awful way to die.”

“It gets worse.” I lace my fingers with Kacie’s when she reaches for my hand. “The professor first seduced another woman from the sorority and used her as an accomplice. That’s how he was able to orchestrate the whole sordid thing. He used mind control techniques you only hear about in conspiracy theories and horror movies. The poor woman was warped completely to his will.”

Blake leans forward, resting his elbows on his knees. “He didn’t kill her too?”

“No. And I couldn’t find anything about her identity either. I called Rebecca and passed everything on, then gave in and took a pain pill. Slept like the dead.”

“Am I the only one who’s never heard of MKUltra?” Kacie asks.

Raven shakes her head. “Nope. No idea what he’s talking about.”

“MKUltra was a conspiracy theory until documents were released in the eighties,” Carl says, practically bouncing in his excitement. “The CIA, DOD, and other government agencies subjected unsuspecting US citizens to mind control experiments starting sometime in the 1950s. One of the favored methods was dosing a person with LSD and studying their reactions to it. They also used sensory deprivation, hypnosis, mental torture, all sorts of ugly things in an attempt to gain control of another human being. They believed that by dosing someone with LSD and altering their reality, they could alter their entire perception. Weird shit, if you ask me. These tests went on up until the early seventies. It’s possible the professor was involved in some way. The government routinely employed psychiatrists for the project.”