Page 54 of Shadow Scorching

“She’s in trance,” I said, keeping my voice low.

“That’s all right,” she said. “I’m in trance but until I get in there, I can hear and answer. But please, don’t bombard me with questions.”

“Well, I guess this is it,” I said. I froze as I turned to the house.

Lights flickered in the upper rooms, erratically turning on and off. The entire place was one giant trap, and the two windows on the top floor looked like eyes, watching us from above.

“The heart of the house,” I whispered. “It’s awake.”

“Oh, it’s awake. It’s an old house, and has had time to learn how to hate. With all the anger and death that’s happened within those walls, who knows how dark its soul is?” Penn stared at it for a while. “It knows we’re here. Andtheyknow we’re here.”

“What do we do first?” I asked.

“First, all of you except Kyann and Lazenti will go to the attic, and use the crystals the way I taught you. Form a circle, facing out, with your backs as close together as possible. Then, hold the crystals in your left hands, up to the ceiling.”

“Then I begin the chant, correct?” Sophia asked.

“Yes. Don’t stop, whatever you do, until I tell you to stop. That should keep the revenant cloistered. It may try to harm you, but if you don’t flinch and don’t break the chain, you should be all right.” She paused, then added, “Can you please try out the chant for me?”

Sophia led the others in the magical incantation that Penn had taught them.

“Weave the circle, cast it bright,

Let it shine through day and night.

Through hardest crystal, our power grows,

To rise against the darkest foes.

Spirit of Quartz, mesmerize,

Capture now the spirit’s eye.”

“So, what is the order of events?” Dante asked.

“All of you except Lazenti and Kyann head for the attic and immediately begin the chant. Lazenti, from what I can tell, the shadow man hides in Jules’s bedroom. You go there—I showed you which one. Locate him and challenge him.” She turned to the rest of us. “Lazenti and I had a talk, and he’s fought shadow people before, so he knows how to at least keep them occupied.”

“You’ll be okay alone?” I asked.

“I’m willing to chance it.” His eyes glowed, the rings around the irises a brilliant crimson.

Penn continued. “Kyann and I will confront the spirits. I’ll create a portal to the Veil and lead them through. Kyann will protect me in case anything else decides to show up and throw some hell our way.”

I took a deep breath. “All right, let’s do this. Don’t go rogue, don’t do anything because it ‘seems the thing to do’, okay? Penn has this plan mapped out and we need to back her up.”

And so, we headed toward the house, ready for battle.

The momentwe entered the house, I could feel the shift. The darkness had deepened, the energy hung in a fog-like veil, with the air so thick it was like breathing water. I gasped, phlegm filling my throat.

“What the hell?—”

“It’s a form of ectoplasm. Try to breath through your nose, rather than your mouth. It won’t hurt you, but it can create a sense of panic because it feels like you’re not getting enough air. The spirits in this house have claimed everything, and this is their mark,” Penn said.

The others headed for the stairs. I watched them go, wishing we could all stay together, but then shook off that thought and turned back to Penn.

“We’ll wait for them to get started,” she said.

I wiped my hand over the back of the sofa. It was covered with a fine mist of pale green droplets. “Ectoplasm?”

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