Page 4 of Air Of Mystery
As my heart thudded against my ribs, I scrambled to see who had called. Indeed, the voice message was from Kenna, and it was urgent. Her boyfriend Tyler had been sent over to a notorious old house over on Henry Street to repair the A/C unit, and he wasn’t responding to any of her calls or texts. Worried for his safety, she was on her way to go and check on him.
Unfortunately, I knew exactly which house she meant. The old Victorian on Henry Street was a location that my team had been investigating on and off for the past couple of years. Recently we had all agreed to stop any further investigations on the site, due to some nasty side effects from our long-term exposure to whatever paranormal creature or entity had taken over the house and property.
Walking away from the haunting, knowing that I’d never solve the mystery of what was going on there, had been a bitter pill to swallow. However, I’d seen firsthand the harm it had caused to the last residents of the property and witnessed the health and psychological problems it had caused for my team. I wasn’t spared its effects either. I’d lost weight, wasn’t sleeping well, and when I did...I’d been plagued by violent nightmares.
The day we’d officially called off any further investigations, I’d ended up hanging out with Kenna and helping her at her bakery. I’d confided to her then about the troubles…and now she was heading straight into danger.
“Shit,” I said, tapping on the screen of my phone.
“What’s wrong?” Charlie asked as he stopped at an intersection.
“I have to go to my sister, Kenna. She needs my help.”
He glanced over. “Is she in danger?”
“Yes, she is,” I said.
“Call the police,” he said immediately.
“It’s not that sort of trouble,” I explained. “It’s a paranormal one. A serious one.”
He didn’t argue. Instead, he simply asked, “Where do we need to go?”
I knew my way to the address by heart, and so I gave him directions while he drove his jeep as quickly as possible across town to the house.
When we arrived, we found Kenna and a barely conscious Tyler on the floor of the basement. The room smelled strongly of sulfur; and soot and ash were falling down in big dirty flakes from the basement ceiling.
I skidded to a halt on the filthy basement floor. “By the goddess, what happened to you two?”
“An entity attacked Tyler,” Kenna said.
My gaze swept over the room. “You used witch-fire against it.”
She nodded. “Yes.”
Charlie had been right beside me, and now he was silently taking in the scene…the smoldering circle on the floor around Kenna and Tyler, the flameless ash that fell from the ceiling. I watched as his eyes went unerringly to a spot on the basement wall. There, the outline of a human form was highlighted against the stone wall. It had been surrounded—outlined by burn marks—where Kenna’s magick had blasted it.
“Tyler’s going to need medical attention,” Kenna said.
With a nod, Charlie walked directly over and helped my sister to her feet. He passed Kenna off to me and then helped Tyler sit upright.
“Sorry man.” Tyler’s voice was weak as he started to sway. “I don’t think I can stay upright.”
“I’ve got you,” Charlie said. Quickly, he bent over and scooped Tyler up, shifting him over his shoulder in a fireman’s carry.
Unknowingly, Charlie’s footsteps had smeared the majority of the remnants of the protective circle that lingered on the floor.Good,I thought.Less for me to cover up.
Throwing a glamour at the burn mark on the stone wall, I willed my magick to hold until I could get back and take a closer look at it. For now, I didn’t want anyone else—especially a mundane—to see that outline. The air shimmered briefly, and the mark was concealed.
Quickly grabbing Tyler’s toolbox, I swiped my sandaled feet through what was left of the mark on the floor. The ash smeared messily across the concrete, but it obscured Kenna’s protective circle. “Let’s get the hell out of here,” I said, taking Kenna’s arm. The residual of negative energy in the house was shockingly strong. Strong enough to make my stomach churn.
“Not gonna argue.” My sister nodded, and the four of us swiftly went back upstairs and out of the house.
By the time we made the front porch, Tyler was completely limp over Charlie’s shoulder. From there Charlie carried him straight across the street and into a neighbor’s welcoming front lawn, putting him down in the grassy shade of an ash tree.
There was a shocking contrast in the bright, positive energy of the neighbor’s yard and the distinctly negative energy of the old Victorian property. I’d experienced it before, but it was still jolting. Tipping my face up to the summer sunshine, I visualizedthe light burning away any evil that might be lingering on the four of us.
I saw Charlie shiver in reaction, while Kenna dropped to her knees to check on Tyler. But she couldn’t seem to rouse him.
