The Curse (Seacliff High Mystery Book 2) (16 page)

“Of course I believe in ghosts. What about Barkley?”

“Yeah, but that girl looked pretty much alive to me. We’ll ask Caleb who she is when we get to the party.”

The wagon pulled up in front of the brightly lit barn. Everyone piled out and headed toward the party, which was already in full swing. Alyson’s huge jack-o’-lantern greeted each of the guests as they came through the open barn doors. Tables were laden with handcrafted coffins eerily engulfed with the fog caused by the dry ice hidden beneath them. Each one was filled with delicious-looking treats or frosty drinks. A local band was playing near the dance floor, which was crowded with costumed partygoers.

“Do you want something to drink?” Devon asked Alyson as they entered.

“Actually, I’m freezing. I guess I didn’t dress warm enough for a fall night. Do they have anything hot?”

Devon took off his jacket and placed it around her shoulders. “I’ll go check. Does anyone else want anything?”

“Hot cider sounds heavenly if you can find some,” Mac answered.

“I’ll go with you,” Eli offered. “I’m sure we could all use something to warm us up.”

“Has anyone seen Caleb or Chelsea?” Alyson asked.

Mac searched the crowded room. “Caleb may be out making sure everything is going okay with the props for the hayride. Oh, wait, here he comes now.”

“Hey, Caleb. Great hayride this year,” Mac greeted him. “Very spooky. The final scene with the crying gypsy girl looked really authentic. Who’d you get to play her?”

“Actually, the girl we had planned to use for the final scene came down with the same strange illness as the other helpers, so we ended up using a mannequin.”

“What we saw was no mannequin,” Alyson argued. “She was definitely a real person and I’ve seen her around a couple of times before.”

“That’s strange. I swear we had a mannequin rigged to represent the ghost of the gypsy girl at the end of the story. The guys who rigged up the special effects must have done a better job than I thought. Anyway, enjoy the party. I’ve got to go check on a few things.”

“Hot cider for the most beautiful haunts here tonight,” Devon said, handing a cup to each of the girls. “And you too, Trevor,” he added, handing a third cup to him.

“We were just discussing whether or not the gypsy girl in the final scene could have been a mannequin. Caleb insists it was,” Trevor informed the newcomer.

“No way,” Devon insisted. “She was definitely no mannequin.”

“Maybe it really was the ghost of the dead gypsy girl,” Mac repeated.

“Someone must have found a volunteer to play the ghost at the last minute and Caleb didn’t know about it,” Trevor suggested.

“Maybe.” Mac seemed unconvinced. She took a sip of her cider and looked around the room. “The place is really hopping. Maybe we should dance before the floor gets even more crowded than it is now.”

“I think I’ll go see if I can find the blonde I sat next to on the hayride. She didn’t seem to have a date.” Trevor headed into the throng of costumed partygoers in search of a dance partner.

Mac and Eli found a place near the band while Devon and Alyson chose to stay toward the back of the throng. The band was good and everyone seemed to be having a good time. When the band broke into a very authentic version of “Monster Mash,” the room erupted in cheers and howls.

“I’m going to look for Caleb.” Alyson leaned toward Devon so he could hear her. “I just remembered something I forgot to tell him.”

“I’ll come with you.”

“No, find us a seat. I’ll be right back.”

Alyson knew what she had to do, and she needed to do it herself. She kissed Devon firmly on the lips before letting herself out into the night.

The moon was nearly full and high in the sky. Random clouds drifted across its face, giving the night an authentically spooky feel. Alyson walked around to the side of the barn, away from the lights and the crowd. She closed her eyes and listened.

“Okay, I’m here. Show me where you need me to go.”

A gust of wind whistled through the canyon leading to the farm. Crickets serenaded the moon, while a lone coyote howled in the distance. Alyson concentrated harder. She knew what she had to do; she just needed to be shown where to go. Suddenly everything was still. The air was perfectly quiet, the crickets stopped their serenade, and the cry of the coyote faded. Alyson remained totally silent, her eyes closed, listening. The noise started off faint at first, then grew louder as the seconds ticked away.

Alyson opened her eyes and looked around. The sound of someone crying seemed to be coming from the orchard behind her. Slowly Alyson walked toward the sobbing, willing the pounding of her heart to still.

She followed the sound through the darkness. The denseness of the canopy overhead almost completely blocked out the light from the moon. Alyson moved slowly, carefully making her way through the debris-filled orchard.

A twig snapped behind her. She stopped and turned to look into the inky black distance. Nothing. Slowly she continued forward, focused on her goal, focused on the task before her.

After several minutes, the orchard opened up into a large meadow. The crying stopped. At the edge of the field stood the girl Alyson had been seeing the past few days. She turned and started down the trail that led into Black Canyon.

Alyson quickened her steps, the full moon overhead lighting the way. She resisted the urge to run. The ground was rocky and uneven. She knew he was following her. She hadn’t seen him, but she felt his presence. She had to hurry. She had to perform the ceremony before he could catch up with her.

The deeper Alyson traveled into the canyon the darker it got. The tall, sheer cliffs blocked out the light from the moon overhead. She could feel her lungs begin to burn as she hurried forward. She paused and looked behind her. He was getting closer. It wouldn’t be long before he would close the distance between them.

The dark path led her past the ghostly shapes of the sets used in the hayride. The outlines of mannequins looked eerily real in the darkness. As the trail wound its way through the canyon, Alyson lost sight of the gypsy girl. It didn’t matter. She suddenly knew where they were going. If she could only beat him there everything would be fine. She could fulfill her destiny and set the trapped souls free.

Alyson started to run. She heard the echo of footsteps behind her. She must hurry. Time was running out. She stopped when she came to the scene of the old gypsy woman cursing the settlers. The entire site was littered with representations of the dead bodies of the slaughtered gypsies. Caleb had done a fantastic job of creating the nightmare scene. Alyson felt tears stream down her face as she looked around. Something old. Something authentic. Chan had told her she’d know it when she saw it.

The crystal ball. Even though the entire set was dark, the crystal ball used to curse the settlers was illuminated brightly. Alyson hurried over to the wagon and removed the orb from its resting place. She had everything she needed. She just needed to get to the site before he did.

Alyson hurried down the dark trail toward the sacred burial ground. Chan had told her she’d know where to go. At the time she hadn’t believed him, but as she hurried along the narrow trail she realized he had been right. She knew exactly where to go: the sacred place where the gypsy princess and the rest of her clan had been buried those long years ago.

Loose rocks rained down around her as she began her ascent. She hugged the crystal ball to her chest with one hand as she used the other one to steady herself as she climbed. As she reached the top she wiped the sweat from her face and looked frantically for the ancient altar, a slab of hard granite worn smooth by time and the weather. She could hear him climbing behind her. The sound of rocks plunging down the cliff confirmed that he was getting close. She scanned the area until she saw the altar Chan had told her about.

She hurried forward, set the crystal ball on the smooth surface, held the gold necklace toward the light of the moon so that it cast a reflection, and began to recite the gypsy curse Chan had taught her. The words that would free the trapped souls had been engraved on the back of the pendant. She didn’t understand them, but she didn’t need to. As a direct descendant of the gypsy who had cast the curse, the words were hers to say. She chanted louder as she heard him crest the cliff face. It wouldn’t be long. She had to finish.

As she screamed the last word into the night, she felt his large hands close around her neck. Her voice faded. She fell to the ground. She heard the sound of her own beating heart as she faded into darkness. Just as she slipped into her final sleep she felt the pressure around her neck release and she gasped a breath of life-giving air as darkness enveloped her.

“Alyson, are you okay?”

Someone was calling to her from beyond the darkness.

“Wake up, honey. Breathe.”

Alyson felt herself struggling toward the sound of the voice. She took a deep breath and opened her eyes.

“Devon?”

“Oh, God. I thought he killed you.” Devon cradled her limp body in his arms.

“Why are you here? How did you know?”

Devon held her head to his chest and rocked her. “I followed you. Somehow your story that you needed to find Caleb didn’t quite ring true, so I followed you into the darkness. I didn’t know you were being followed until he began to climb up the cliff face after you. I was afraid I’d be too late. What are you doing out here?”

“It was my destiny to set them free. I knew he followed me, but I had to try. I only had until midnight. I had to hurry.”

“Set who free?”

“The trapped souls.”

“Like in the hayride story?’

“Yeah. The pendant I found was the key. From the moment it was placed around my neck I knew it belonged to me. I didn’t know what it meant, so I went to see Chan. He told me what to do. He told me what to say. The girl led me to the sacred spot.”

“What girl?”

“The girl I’ve been seeing. The one who helped me find Spyder and V.”

“Where is she now?”

“Hopefully, in heaven.” Alyson sat up and looked into the sky. Streams of bright light seemed to rise up from the graveyard and flow into the night. The heaviness she had been feeling had been lifted. She smiled.

“What do we do with him?” She nodded toward the man lying unconscious in the grass. “What did you hit him with, anyway? He’s out cold.”

“A tree branch. A rather large tree branch. I hope I didn’t kill him.”

Alyson got up and walked over to the unconscious body. “No, he’s breathing. We’d better get help; he won’t stay out forever.”

“There’s some rope they used to rig the props down in the canyon. I’ll stay here with him in case he does wake up and you go get some. We’ll tie him up, then go back to the party to call the police.”

After calling the police and explaining what had happened, Devon offered to take Alyson home.

“No, I’m fine. I’d like to stay. You guys go in. I’ll be there in a minute.”

“I’ll wait with you,” Devon insisted. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

“Better than okay.”

Alyson leaned her head on Devon’s shoulder and looked up into the moonlight. The rays of light seemed to radiate off her skin. “You’re really beautiful.” Devon leaned close and kissed her gently on the lips. Alyson put her arms around his neck and deepened the kiss. She didn’t want to complicate things with a serious relationship, but somehow this felt right. At least for now. Not only were there sparks but she was fairly sure the night sky had been set ablaze with the fireworks they were setting off.

Devon stopped kissing her and simply looked deep into her eyes. He slowly tucked a stray hair behind her ear, sending shivers through her body at his intimate caress. “Who are you, Alyson Prescott? You’ve captured my heart, but I feel like I’ve barely touched the surface of your soul.”

Alyson opened her mouth to speak, but Devon replaced the finger he had been using to trace her face with her lips. “Don’t answer. You’ll tell me when you’re ready. For now just kiss me.”

Devon slowly lowered his lips toward hers, maintaining eye contact the whole time. Alyson had been kissed before, but she’d never shared such an intimate experience with anyone. As his lips lightly touched her, she felt him pause and touch the tip of his tongue to her quivering lip before deepening the kiss and enveloping her completely. Alyson heard a coyote cry in the distance. This time his cry seemed to express the depth of her emotions rather than frighten her. Alyson tightened her arms around Devon’s neck and leaned into his body. Devon tightened his embrace for a moment before pulling away.

He placed his forehead against hers and took several deep breaths. “I think maybe we’d better stop.”

Alyson loosened her grip around his neck. “Yeah, I think we’d better.”

The couple pulled slightly away from each other and took a step back. The party was still in full swing just around the corner in the barn. “Maybe we should join the others inside,” Alyson suggested.

Mac, Eli, and Trevor were seated at a table near the dance floor.

“We got you a drink.” Mac passed the soda to Alyson as she sat down beside her. “Are you feeling okay?” she asked, concern in her voice. “I don’t want to push if you’re not ready to talk, but seriously, what happened? One minute you’re dancing to ‘Monster Mash’ and the next thing I know you’re talking to the police about a man you left tied up in the canyon.”

“It’s kind of a long story. Why don’t we go back to my place so I can change into something more comfortable and I’ll tell you what happened. Besides, at some point I’m going to have to fill my mom in, and there’s a certain comfort in having friends on hand.”

Alyson changed into a pair of comfy sweatpants and an oversized sweatshirt before joining her mother and her friends at the kitchen table. Tucker had immediately sensed something was wrong and had been following Alyson from room to room ever since they’d arrived. Alyson’s mom had magically produced hot apple cider and apple pie topped with vanilla ice cream while she was upstairs.

Alyson tucked her legs up under her body as she sipped her hot cider. “First of all, before I even start, I want you all to know I’m fine.” Alyson noticed the worry on her mom’s face. “Really.”

“So what happened?” Mac asked impatiently.

Alyson explained the sequence of events, from finding the pendant in the old farmhouse to her meeting with Chan and her revelation that she was a direct descendant of the gypsy who had cast the spell and therefore it was her destiny to free the spirits trapped by the curse.

“Wow, really?” Mac asked. “You’re related to that gypsy? How?”

“I don’t know,” Alyson admitted. “But ever since I moved to Cutter’s Cove strange things have been happening to me. It’s like this town and this house are part of some preordained destiny. I know that sounds odd.”

“Not odd. You do seem to be connected to the spiritual energy in the area, but why didn’t you ask us to come with you?” Mac asked. “It was dangerous to go off on your own. If Devon hadn’t followed you, I hate to think of what might have happened.”

“I don’t know really. I just had this understanding that it was something I had to do on my own. I can’t explain it. When I was talking to Chan I had this sudden knowledge of what had to be done.”

“But why was the guy chasing you?” Trevor asked.

“He wanted the necklace. The pendant was the key to releasing the captured souls, but when he overheard the bank robber who originally stole it say it was a key he figured it was the key to the treasure that some say is buried in the canyon.”

“Are you sure there isn’t a treasure?” Trevor asked. “Maybe he knew something we don’t.”

“Maybe. But Chan didn’t mention anything about an actual treasure when I talked to him.”

“Where did the necklace come from in the first place?” Mac asked. “You found it in the old farmhouse. The guy who was following you told the police he overheard the bank robber tell someone he found the key. Where did he get it in the first place?”

“Good question. Maybe if he’s still locked up downtown we could ask him, although I doubt he’d tell us.”

“Just think,” Trevor added, “if the legend is right, the necklace might be the key to finding a fortune in gold. Maybe we should look into it a little more.”

“Honestly, I think I’ve had enough excitement for one week.” Alyson laid her head back and closed her eyes. “Maybe next week.”