Bear In The Rough: Book 1: Treasure Hunt (BBW Bear Shifter Romance) (39 page)

Chapter 44

Kate stood in the kitchen. Her eyes were closed, but her face was turned towards the window. Jenny entered the room to look for extra batteries.

'There you are! I was starting to worry about you. Can you believe all of this?' Jenny asked.

Kate stood motionless.

'Kate? Are you okay?'

Kate slowly turned her head towards Jenny, 'I... I’m not. No. Not okay. There is something...I feel something here...'

'No shit, Kate. We all felt it. That growl sent shivers down my spine, I can tell ya.'

'It isn't that. I felt that too, but this....this is...different.' The accent was on the last syllable and it fell to the ground.

'You think this was bad? You should have seen it the other night. This room was throwing knives around!'

'That was attention seeking...'

'Head seeking more like it! Poor Matt almost got a meat cleaver to the face. I'm not sure how either of us walked out alive.' Jenny rolled her eyes.

'Because it wanted you to. It wanted you to...to...get help. I think. I feel it wanted...something. Something else. Something extra.'

'So we were just the patsies? It wanted Matt to call Henry? Is he in trouble?' Jenny asked. She could feel the ridiculousness follow her words.

'Not Henry. No. Yes. Maybe him, but not just him. He has a connection. I kept seeing his face in my meditation, but it wasn't clear. I need to have a look around the house.' Kate concluded.

'Are you sure? I don't think that is a good idea. You should probably ask Father Andrew first...'

'No!' Kate shouted.

'Kate? Are you sure you're all right?'

'Yes. Sorry. I'm fine. Just fine, my dear. I meant we shouldn't bother the poor Father. He probably has his hands full enough as it is. I'll be okay. Besides, I have you for backup. What could go wrong?'

Kate moved out of the kitchen and Jenny followed her upstairs. Phil looked over to the two women. 'Where the hell do they think they're going?'

'Maybe she keeps her extra batteries in her room. You know what I mean.' Chris had a wry smile across his face as he said it. His eyes lingering on Kate’s behind and Jenny's in tow. Then sharply, he turns back attention to frequency analyzer, as two loud peeps emanate.

Phil responds. 'Yep, that’s it, alright.' He shakes his head in humorous disbelief. 'You are a sick puppy mate, what am I ever gonna do with you?'

Chapter 45

Henry looked over the passenger side of his car. The one bag that Father Andrew left in the car was wedged under the seat.

'Henry, there's something I need to tell you.' Laura was hesitant.

'You like what you see. I know, can't help yourself. It's ok. Don't be shy, just say.' Henry wiggles his behind in jest, drawing a blush and smile from Laura. There he does it again she thought, always able to lift her spirits with humor. For a minute, she's in admiration of him, then slowly she's conscious this will make her next words even more difficult. As if they weren't already.

'No, it's not that, it's something serious. I don't want to spoil what we have, but there is something you ought to know. Something that you might not like or even make you not want to talk to me again.'

Henry stood up with the bag triumphantly in his hands and fixed his trousers. He put his hand around Laura and gently pulled her close.

'I've had so many bad experiences with people just not being honest. If you have something to say, please just say it. We can work through whatever it is. I promise.'

'Henry, don't make promises you can't keep. I'm not sure you'll feel the same about me afterwards.' She stops, hesitant. The words drip fed from her mouth. Checking for some response in Henry's face. Waiting for the brush off… 'I wouldn't blame you if you thought I was disgusting and never wanted to see me again.'

'Laura, what is it? You’re scaring me now.'

'I love you, Henry. I don't want to hurt you. I never intended any of this...' Laura turned away. Her tears blurred her vision.

Henry put his hand on Laura's shoulder.

'I love you too. It is fast, very fast, but I feel it. There was something there that said 'She's the one!' when you ran into me. 'I can't explain it more than that. It's like I've known you for a long time.'

Laura looked at Henry. 'It feels like that because I think you did know me. In a way. You see, meeting you wasn't an accident. Yes, the way we met certainly was. I have the bruise to show for that. But I've known about you for years, Henry.'

Henry took a step backward. He wasn’t sure of the direction Laura’s unprecedented confession was edging towards.

'What do you mean? You knew about me for years? That doesn't make any sense...'

'Henry, we need that bag! Now!' Matthew shouted from the doorway.

'Listen, I made a promise to always love you and damn it if I ever go against my promises. We can talk about this later, okay?' Henry kissed Laura on the lips and hurried inside with the bag.

Laura watched Henry go into the house. Just then, she saw a little girl in the 1st story window. The little girl waved at her and Laura ran towards the house in fear.

Chapter 46

Kate looked at the wall in Jenny's bedroom and ran her fingers slowly down the Centre closest to the bed post. She rubbed her fingers together as if she had something a bit sticky on them.

When she opened her mouth to talk, she was relaying what she had told Jenny earlier all over again. This time, she told Jenny she had experienced spirits before, but what she felt in the house was like a huge truck hurtling through space with great power and grave anger.

'Anger. Hatred. Malice. Whatever this is, it's big and evil. The anger doesn't even seem to be human. Like this is anger itself!' If Kate had originally set out to scare the guts out of Jenny, then she was doing a great job. But under the circumstances, this was no joke.

Jenny took the time to remind Kate that nothing had happened until a few days ago, and she basically didn’t understand how her house got so haunted quickly even when a murder or any of those other known factors that could ignite a haunting didn’t take place.

'How did it start? I think that is the key. You are right, stuff like this usually would take years to develop, or would need something very powerful to awaken this type of evil.'

'Can you see anything else?' Jenny asked.

'Jenny! Look, whatever this thing is, it isn't the spirit of your dead cat! It means us harm. To be quite honest, it scares me. I don't even wish to reach out, let alone attempt to let it in.'

'Then don't. This whole thing's creeping me out. Let's just head back downstairs. Coming up here alone was a mistake.' Jenny turned to exit her bedroom. 'Coming, Kate?'

Kate stood with her eyes fixed on Jenny's night stand.

'Kate? This is starting to freak me out.'

'Sorry. I had a flash of something but lost it. Probably for the best.'

The two exited the bedroom and started to walk down the stairs. Halfway down the stairs, Kate stops and looks back at the bedroom. Jenny's bedroom door slams and Kate jumps, nearly losing her balance. Both girls hastily trot downstairs as quickly as they could.

Chapter 47

handed the leather bag to Father Andrew. When Andrew took hold of the bag, the house shook enough to knock over a few of the pictures from Jenny's walls. The sound of glass crashing to the ground could be heard coming from the kitchen.

'Bringing out the heavy guns, huh? I guess we aren't exactly expecting Father Christmas.' Chris teased.

Andrew took two bottles of holy water from his bag. He kissed them both and set them on the table. A loud beeping sound came from upstairs.

Phil looked over at his screen. 'Guys, we've got company.'

Kate and Jenny walked over to where Phil sat looking at his screen. Jenny hunched over to get a closer look.

'Just what is that noise?'

'It's an alarm we rigged. It detects...' Phil started, but let himself trail off. He looked towards the ceiling and soon the others were too.

There seemed to be a collection of oddities rotating around by the ceiling. Random odds and ends formed a small vortex of spinning rubbish. The entire thing looked like a localized tornado. Jenny moved towards the vortex.

'Jenny...' Henry whispered.

'What is that stuff?' she asked.

Jenny reached her hand out to see if she could grab one of the lower flying items. On tiptoes, hands and fingers outstretched, just a little further to snag one of the items.

'I can almost...' Jenny was cut short by a sudden avalanche of free-falling junk. She fell to the ground out of shock when one chunk of the vortex smashed her in the face. A gash by her hairline trickled blood down into her eyes.

'What the hell? That hurt!'

Matthew rushed over to his sister and picked up an old watch. 'What is this? Where did all of this come from? Watches? Medals? A lot of crap here that's not ours'

Kate looked at Matthew in disgust.

'Yeah, that's the important bit. Not your sis here with her head cut open.'

Henry and Kate helped Jenny to her feet. Henry gave Jenny a handkerchief to press to her forehead and asked her to put some pressure on it for a while.

'That stuff is an apport.' Phil said.

'What the hell is an apport?' Matthew asked.

'An apport is material from the astral plane.'

'The what?'

'Spooky thing that wants to kill everyone brings junk with him from his house. Is that basic enough for you?' Chris was blunt.

Matthew looked towards Chris. 'You didn't have to get so snotty! I don't know any of this geek stuff!'

Kate stepped between Matthew and Chris. She gave Matthew a long hard stare.

'The things you don't know could fill an entire bloody library.'

Jenny, who was still in pain or shock or probably both, was the one who intended to broker a peace deal. She was writhing in pain from the earlier incident and wouldn’t stop nursing the bruise with the palm of her hand.

Beep! Beep! Beep!

'What's that?' Jenny asked.

'The Vib-Mon.'

'The what?'

'Vibration Monitor. Something we cooked up. It picks up movement. We hooked a few upstairs in case something wanted to crash our party unexpected like.' Chris said, a smile curled up the edges of his lips.

Phil checked his computer. 'Upstairs. Rear bedroom.'

Matthew looked nervous. 'You mean something's in my room? Now?'

Henry tried to calm his friend down. He was urging him not to panic when a loud thud broke Henry's speech. The thud was followed by a deep moan. The moan itself seemed to have come from three different voices, all of them from the same spot directly above them where the apport had manifested. The desk lamps faded, flickered and then extinguished. Even the torch back-ups wavered with their light barely making a swatch through the darkness. The house had moon and star light for its sole source of illumination.

'Can we panic now?' Jenny asked.

The lights erupted around them. Several of the desk lamp bulbs shattered, sending sparks and glass around the area.

'Yes, let's!' said something near Jenny. It was a figure of a woman. She was dressed in an odd gown not from this century. Her flesh was rotted and white and her eyes were two sunken opals. The hand on Jenny's shoulder was so cold, it burned.

'Christ rebuke you!' shouted Father Andrew as he pulled Jenny to safety.

The entity screamed in pain. The scream sounded of a mix of a person with his throat cut gurgling blood and a small child crying through a megaphone.

The remaining lights flickered again and a wind blew Matthew off his feet. He crashed to the ground almost smashing the equipment set up near Phil. The entity had vanished.

Matthew picked himself off the floor, 'What the hell was that?'

Laura smiled, 'I guess now you believe?'

'Kate? Kate! What’s wrong with Kate?' Jenny was worried now.

The group turned their attention to Kate. She was seated on a rocking chair, away from the lights. A bit of moonbeam caught her face as she rocked back and forth. Her face twisted and her tongue lolled out of her mouth.

She bit it hard enough to draw blood then made a show sucking at it. A giggle escaped her lips.

'Kate? Kate? What’s wrong with Kate?' she taunted. 'Your Kate is with me. The little meddler thought she could just walk through my world without me noticing? Such a pathetic twist of flesh.' Kate, or who was supposed to be Kate, put her arm into her mouth and bit hard into her flesh.

'Such a pathetic tasty bit though...'

Father Andrew took a step towards Kate. 'Kate, if you can hear me...'

She laughed, but the voice wasn't her own.

'In the name of God!' Andrew said, holding out his crucifix.

'In the name of God. In the name of God.' a possessed Kate teased and laughed.

'In the name of Jesus Christ! I command you...'

'H... help me! Please.... It's too strong. It's too....' A brief flicker in the eyes and the real Kate is back. Barely holding on. Kate's voice changed again. This time, it was a little girl. 'Enough! You sound like my mum before I ripped her throat out!'

'Leave her alone!' Jenny yelled. She moved towards Kate but Henry restrained her.

'Leave her alone! Leave her alone! Leave her alone! I won't. I finally have a... friend. A friend. Are there any more friends here? I want to meet you all. Please play? I won't hurt you!' the girl's voice said. Kate screamed as her hand picked up a pen and stabbed it into the other arm. She drew the pen back and aimed for her wrist.

'Enough! I command you in the name of Christ to leave! Leave this person! Leave this innocent! In the name of Jesus, I command you!' Father Andrew shook one of his bottles of holy water at Kate, spraying a small amount of the water over her.

Kate dropped the pen instantaneously and flew backwards in the rocking chair hard enough to almost topple over. A scream came from her, it was in her own voice this time, and the lights came back to their normal power. Chris rushed over to help her up and carried her to the sofa. He set her down, tearing bits from his shirt, creating makeshift bandages for her wounds.

'What...what happened?' Kate asked.

'You don't worry about that now. The important thing is that we have you back safe.' Chris implored.

'My head feels like it is about to explode.' Kate uttered.

The priest examined Kate and assured her it would pass. He turned his gaze to the rest of the group and sought their attention. First, he told them they were dealing much with darker powers and the holy water could only buy them some more time by temporarily protecting them. He then told the group that if they must extinguish evil, the root source had to be exposed and to do that, they all needed to do away with false modesty or ego smoothing but uphold honesty. Father Andrew aimed the last part in Matthew’s direction.

'It is written if we confess our sins, He is just and able to forgive us our sins. With this forgiveness, the demon will have less power over us.

'Matthew, this thing started after your vigil with Henry?' Father Andrew asked.

'Yes. That very night.'

'You do not strike me as a believer in the faith.' Andrew’s eyes focused on Matthew intensely.

'No disrespect Father, but I haven't seen eye-to-eye with religion. But after tonight though...'

The priest listens to the confused Matthew. After a moment his tact changes and his pastoral wisdom becomes evident, and Henry is once more reminded of a kindly Sunday school teacher he once was. A teacher guiding with gentle words a once young half Irish boy from a broken and impoverished home.

'The good Lord calls people in their own time. However, this does pose a problem. I fail to understand how this evil can have such a grasp on this house as you pose to him no threat. You are within his fold.'

'Huh?' Matthew responded, even more confused.

'The devil goes after those he is afraid of losing. The ones about to convert, about to step into the light. You my friend don't fit the profile.' Henry explained.

Matthew wasn't sure how to take that. But ultimately decided it was some sort of compliment.

Father Andrew ignored the outburst. 'It can't be the house. There would have been manifestations throughout its recent history. Perhaps something in the house though?

'You're certain that there are no occult interests in your lives? Would you wager your soul on that? Because that is exactly what you would be doing.' He pressed further.

'Kate and I have had Tarot cards read before. I mean, who hasn't right?' Jenny confessed.

'Kate?' Andrew redirected.

'I knew it! I knew that cow is...' Matthew shouted.

Father Andrew put his hand up to quiet Matthew.

'Now, Kate, do you indeed dabble in the arts?' Father Andrew asks.

'I am a sensitive.' Kate says it almost with pride or haughtiness. 'I've had the gift for many years, but I never witnessed anything like this before.'

Father Andrew advised Kate to leave to ensure her safety. The entity had already made contact with her, which would only make her more susceptible to future attacks. He claimed she already knew its power and her own weakness which made her a beacon to it.

'But her wounds!' Chris exclaimed.

Andrew sighed and told him it was better to have her flesh bleed than get her soul devoured. He then instructed him to walk her to her car.

Kate turned to Jenny and promised to call her in a couple of days. An unusually chivalrous Chris was quick to hold Kate's waist, gingerly leading her to the door. His sudden found care and attention did seem a bit over the top. Kate felt that and smiled at him.

'Think I'll be fine now, really, but thanks.'

'Remember, my child, I do not advise pursuing divination in whatever form. There are reasons for that. Tonight, what you all witnessed, best demonstrated as to why.'

'Crap!' Phil shouted.

The priest looked over at Phil.

'Sorry Father, It’s the sensors. Number 1 just died.' Phil is puzzled. He looked at the laptop screen and hits a few buttons.

'I swear those babies were fully charged before we got here.' He pauses a bit and then offers to have them checked out.

Henry checked the readings.

'Not alone, you don't. I'll come with you.'

'Be careful, son. Anything, and I do mean anything peculiar happens, you come straight back. Do not confront evil in the flesh!'

John Andrew's face was stern. If there was any element of humor in the situation, his face didn't show it. However, Henry did smile. Perhaps to reassure the old priest of his competency.

'Yeah, though I walk in the valley of the shadow of death. I fear no evil. Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me.'

'Glad Sunday school wasn't entirely wasted on you, my son.'

Henry smiled and then nodded. 'Ready, Phil?'

Laura grabbed Henry by the arm, 'Henry, wait. I'm coming with.'

The three made their way up the stairs. Phil's torch was the only thing cutting through the inky blackness.

'Is it me or is it bloody cold up here?' Laura said.

Phil's torch wobbled in the cold. 'It's not you. Manifestations tend to bring temperature changes. Frequently it’s a drop, but can be the reverse on the odd occasions. However, based on recent events, our guest seems true to form, and may be sucking the power as well as heat from everything it can.'

The group entered Matthew’s bedroom where the faulty sensor was found. Jenny's bedroom door slammed shut, making Laura jump.

'It's a distraction. Just ignore it.' Henry instructed.

'Henry, shine some light over here will you.' Phil passes Henry the torch. He then turns and walks over to the corner of the room and picks up a lifeless sensor. Removing a small cover plate, he inserts a replacement battery cell from his pocket. A few seconds and the sensor beeped back to life. He then places it back.

'All good here! Let’s go. This place is damn near freezing.'