Page 28 of Christmas Spirits

Using one of the shop’s display tables, Rhys had laid out all the objects he needed on it. The candles were lit. A symbol had been drawn with permanent marker on his embroidered tablecloth, and a bowl full of Marc Anders’s remains, salt, and the grave dirt sat in the center of it. With all the magic that had kept the spirit away now gone, we had only minutes before it found me again and attacked.

My biggest worry was Zach. I didn’t want him near this chaos and danger. What I really wanted was for Laurence to go back to the apartment with him, to keep him safe, but he refused to leave me. And Arianna—she was our best fighter and spellcaster, no offense to Laurence. We needed her here just in case things went bad.

I couldn’t go anywhere with the spirit hunting me. It’d only come if I was here.

So, since he had to stay here, we put his crib upstairs with the baby monitor on standby. My hope was that he slept through the entire thing, completely unaware of what his parents were involved in.

When the familiar icy chill ricocheted through me, every one of my muscles tensed. My gaze snapped toward Rhys, who was turning my way at the same time, letting me know he felt it, too.

“It’s here,” he breathed, his whited-out eyes glowing eerily.

Laurence took my hand and gave it a comforting squeeze. “Ready?” he asked.

No.

“As ready as I’ll ever be for something like this,” I replied instead, my wavering voice revealing my fear.

Arianna was scanning the store, hands outstretched and at the ready.

Rhys stepped up to the table and picked up the jug of Holy Water. “Remember, it’ll not like what we’re doing, so expect a fight. But whatever happens, do not let it touch you. It can try and hold on to your soul to prevent being pulled into its body and banished.”

I didn’t like the sound of that.

I watched as he poured the Holy Water into the bowl and dunked his hands into the soggy mixture. Tilting his chin up to the ceiling, he closed his eyes and drew in a slow breath.

Silence spilled over the room as we waited. The only noises were the soft crackle of the baby monitor on Laurence’s hip and my own frantic heartbeat against my eardrums.

Then a breeze stirred my curls, caressing the side of my cheek, and I spun to see wind passing over everyone, ruffling their clothes, and disturbing some of the jewelry for sale on the shelves. As the wind built, swirling around the room like the making of a tornado, I dropped to my knees, covering my head, and clutched the cross around my neck. Laurence came with me, his unslung arm wrapping around my shoulders.

He may have been trying to say something comforting to me, but with the wind now whipping past us, the roar made it almost to impossible to hear. Merchandise flew off their displays. Books shot open, their pages flapping violently. The flames from the candles erupted upward, sparking and hissing and throwing more red light about the room.

“Hold steady!” Rhys shouted against the turbulence.

Memories of my failed channeling attempt flashed across my mind—the candles, the storm-like winds, the booming noises—and the same panic I’d felt then reared up again.

That’s when I saw it. The black silky form gliding across the floor toward Arianna’s turned back.

A strangled cry escaped my throat.

She whipped around, seeing the thing immediately, and threw a blast of icicles at it. It flinched back, scooting up the wall and above a shelf. She continued to shoot ice, following it as it hopped along the displays. Glass jars full of small animal skulls and who knew what else crashed onto the floor. Loose papers flew.

When it came to our side of the room, Laurence muttered a spell the same time it threw its tendrils out for me. I shielded my face into his chest, expecting the worst, but when nothing happened, I peeked out to see the blackness stopped by an invisible wall again.

“I got you,” he said close to my ear.

As if the spirit was annoyed, it vibrated and darted across the ceiling. Arianna resumed shooting spells at it, chasing it around the room.

When I looked at Rhys again, I was shocked at what was now happening on the table. From the bowl, the muddy combination of bone fragments, dirt, salt, and Holy Water was moving, rising, and stretching. Taking the form of a human body. With every second that went by, the more distinct the features became.

It was horrifying.

Squeezing my eyes shut, I thought back to the figure I’d seen forming on my grandmother’s table during my channeling. No matter how much I tried, I couldn’t get rid of that image. And something told me this one would haunt my nightmares right along with it.

When was this going to be over?

The blustering wind knocked against me, strong enough to teeter me over. When I opened my eyes again, the poltergeist was drawing closer to Rhys, and Arianna was struggling to keep her aim steady with the chaos raging around us.

One black tentacle lashed out, piercing Rhys in the side with enough speed and strength, it went clear through to the other side. His eyes widened in shock and pain, and the moment it withdrew, he gasped before collapsing on the ground.

---