Page 49 of Malice

Hudson smiles before ducking to slide into the passenger seat. I secure Otto in his car seat then sit in front, starting the car and exhaling before backing out of my parking space to return to the house.

Just as we turn onto Hudson’s street, Crash pops into the back seat, startling me. Apparently Hudson can still see him, because he gasps and puts his hand over his heart.

“Jesus, dude. Do you get used to that?”

“Hard to say,” I answer.

“Sorry.” Crash scrunches his nose. “A little heads-up, boys. One of the house spirits said your Horror is losing his shit about not having Hudson to himself. He’s coming after you, Aster.”

I nod, focusing on the road but gripping the steering wheel tighter. “Good to know.”

Minutes later, we arrive at the seemingly quiet house. It looks so peaceful from the outside. No one would ever guess the chaos on the other side of the door.

Hudson reaches over and squeezes my hand. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah.” I offer a smile I don’t quite feel. “Do me a favor though. If you ever feel like it’s speaking to you, don’t answer it.”

“It? You mean Chester?”

I shake my head. “Don’t think of it like that anymore. If you can, try to disconnect them in your mind.”

Hudson’s face hardens. “No way. I’m not letting that bastard off the hook for what he’s done just because he’s dead now.”

I nod. “I get it. I was told it would help me deal with it by not thinking of him as a person anymore, but our experiences are different.”

“I think about it a lot, you know. What happened in his life that made him such a miserable person.” Hudson glances out the window at the house. “But I think I’ve decided I don’t care. It doesn’t matter what made him like that. It doesn’t matter why he’s tormenting me now. All that matters is that he is.”

“That’s the best way to look at it. We’ll get rid of him though. I promise.”

Hudson turns to me with a soft smile on his face. “I believe you. I haven’t believed anyone in a long time.”

I want to fix this for him. I know I have to, but I alsowantto, if only to see more of his smiles.

“Ready to go in and deal with this?”

Hudson exhales slowly. “Ready.”

Me, Hudson, and Otto enter the house through the side door, which was a mistake since it opens into the kitchen, where the Horror is currently causing a tornado of dishes and utensils. I spot him in the corner of the ceiling, crouched down and glaring. His facial features are screwed up like he’s in pain, and the way his form slumps forward, flickering and twitching, I somehow understand that he’s expending a great deal of energy.

Hudson moves closer to me, squeezing my arm while Otto growls in the Horror’s direction.

“Can you see it now?” I ask.

“An outline,” Hudson says, his voice shaking. “It looks like him, but it also doesn’t? What do you see?”

“I see him completely, but it comes with the job.”

“It’s not fully manifested yet,” Crash explains from behind us. “But it’s getting there.”

“Let’s sneak into the living room while it’s concentrating on something else.”

Hudson nods, and we manage to move through the kitchen without incident. I get to work on the spell, using the directions on Hudson’s phone to mix the ingredients together. I take the velvet bag the clerk at the store gave us and add an amount that seems right. The powder crackles and flickers of light rise from the bowl.

“Whoa,” Hudson whispers.

I look up to see the house spirits crowded on the stairs. One of them, a woman dressed in what looks like sixties clothing, nods and smiles.

Well done.

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