THE SHADOWED ONYX: A DIAMOND ESTATES NOVEL (25 page)

Mark turned to Mom. “How about you? Can you think of anything in the home that could have attachment to evil? Anything?” He waited. “I’m sorry if it seems like I’m driving this point too hard. I guess I just don’t feel a release to move on. In my heart, I feel as though we aren’t ready for the next step.”

Oh great. He was psychic, too.

Mom shook her head. “No, I can’t think of anything …” She gasped and held up a finger. “Just a sec. I’ll be right back.” She tore off down the hallway to the guest room.

Joy looked at Grandpa and shrugged. What could Mom be up to? Grandpa and Stella were the last people to stay in that room. Oh … unless Mom thought Stella …

Mom came back in the room holding a few of the little statues Stella had lined up on the dresser. “These are going to have to go.”

Joy peeked at Grandpa. He closed his eyes and nodded. Hmm. He was in the thick of it, too, wasn’t he?

“Okay, well here’s what we’re going to do, folks. I’ll pray, and if anyone else would like to say a prayer, you’re free to do that. Know that the power of God is in the name of Jesus …”

Silas barked. The hair on his back stood straight up.

“… and every spirit bows at the very mention of His name, so we’re
claiming
authority in the name of Jesus. We’re not hoping for victory, we’re claiming it.”

Joy fought the urge to roll her eyes. It just sounded so ridiculous. Cage fighting made so much more sense. Put two guys in a cage; the stronger one wins. The spirit world was probably the same. Put a demon in a cage with an angel …

Mark lifted his hands into the air. “Father God, Holy Spirit, we invite Your presence into this space. We claim victory over the evil that assails this family. In the name of Jesus I command evil spirits to leave this place, amen.” He lowered his hands and waited.

Dad cleared his throat. “Lord, as the father and the husband in this household, I repent of my weakness and my blindness and ask You to forgive me for lowering my guard and allowing this to happen under my watch. Please give me the strength to see what’s going on around me with my family. Lord, please heal my daughter and bring her back. We claim victory, and I command all evil spirits to leave the presence of my family in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.”

Mark nodded and turned to Joy. “In agreement with what’s been said, take each of your items and toss them into the fire one by one.”

In agreement with what’s been said? There was the rub. If she threw the magazines or the incense into the fire, she was saying that the prayers Mark and Dad had prayed were her own. Such a tough call. Was it? What if she wasn’t sure? She wanted her answers—like she’d told Mom. She wasn’t going to run from one side unless she had somewhere else to go.

Problem was, they all stood there staring at her. She had to do something. She couldn’t very well say she wasn’t going to burn her stuff because she had doubts. If she didn’t throw everything in the fire, they would freak out, but if she did, Silas would freak out. Joy looked at Mark and shrugged her shoulders.

Mark leveled his gaze and locked eyes with Joy.

Silas stood panting. Waiting.

Joy shook her head.

“I can’t.”

T
he Explorer turned onto I-76 and pointed toward Colorado. The next three-plus hours were sure to be awkward.

Joy stared out her window and watched the mile markers fly by. One at a time.

Who’d have thought she’d be riding in a car next to Mark Stapleton, a relative stranger, whom she’d just thoroughly disappointed and probably embarrassed, on what would’ve been the most emotional day of her life—who left home at seventeen? But she had to keep it together. No way she’d start emoting in front of a stranger. At least he didn’t seem bent on filling every moment with some spiritual conversation like he might have done if he weren’t so angry with her. Ooh. Hidden bonus to the fire debacle: Maybe he would let her travel in peace.

Joy pulled out her iPhone and plugged in the headphones. She pressed the ear buds in and set the playlist to random—all she needed was the noise. Joy could read to fill the time. She toggled to the Kindle app.

Studying Mark out of the corner of her eye, Joy felt him inch a bit closer and peek over the console at her screen. What would he say if he noticed she was reading
Twilight?
Mom and Dad both read it, but it was one of those unspoken things they didn’t admit around their churchy groups. But if Mark could tell what it was, Joy was sure he’d have some kind of comment. Or at least he would have before she shot him down at the bonfire.

Ugh. She’d really made a mess of that experience. The others might have thought she enjoyed their discomfort as she whispered “I can’t,” but the disappointment on Mom’s face wouldn’t be something Joy soon forgot. Mom had gasped and covered her mouth when Joy said she couldn’t go through with burning her things. Mark had said it was normal, that they shouldn’t worry. He offered to take care of it.

What had he said when he reached his hands out to Joy and asked her to surrender her things to him?
“I will take care of them, but this is not symbolic of you turning them over. This is simply me taking them from you. Eventually, you’ll have to make the choice for yourself before you’ll be able to reunite in fellowship with God.”

Reunite in fellowship with God. What did that even mean? It didn’t sound fun at all. But none of that really mattered in the moment. At least she’d avoided making the choice that day. And Silas was happy. At least for now. Maybe she could figure things out better before she’d have to deal with making Silas mad again. It would be great if her final spiritual awakening was some kind of combo platter of all the good stuff from every belief system, with Silas right in the center.

Speaking of her wolf, was he with her in the car? Her eyes roved the small space beneath her feet. No Silas. Where had he gone? Did his absence mean he wasn’t coming with her to Colorado? On one hand, that would free her from a lot of issues, but on the other … what would she do without him?

Silas appeared in front of her and put his chin on her leg. He looked up at her with sad eyes.
Is this an apology for Ash Hollow, boy?
Joy spoke with her thoughts even though he probably couldn’t hear them. She smiled.
Good boy
. Sure would be nice to have him with her on this adventure. At least she wouldn’t be alone.

But now she’d better figure out what happened with Bella before they arrived at Diamond Estates. Thank goodness Mark didn’t seem bent on drawing her into conversation for the entire drive. Probably figured he’d get her back to his lair before he spun his web around her, trapping her forever in his world. Too dramatic? At one time she’d have thought so, but not anymore.

Joy raised her phone to eye level and scrolled to the spot where she left off. Something told her books like that wouldn’t be allowed at Diamond Estates. So if she was going to learn all about eternal love, vampire-style, she’d have to do it now.

“We’re headed up the mountain and will be at Diamond Estates very shortly.”

Joy blinked as her eyes tried to focus on her blurry surroundings. Mark Stapleton tipped his head up a snowy lane as the car’s wheels gripped the pavement through the slush. How long had she been asleep? Had she snored, or worse … drooled?

Mark smiled. “Welcome back to earth. He handed her the iPhone. “You dropped this when you nodded off.”

So, had he scrolled through her pics and read her texts? She totally should have set up one of those password locks. “Thanks. I don’t know what came over me. I just crashed, I guess.”

“I’m thinking you’ve had a rough couple of days and probably needed the sleep. Besides, it made the trip super fast for you.” Mark smiled.

Which was supposed to be a good thing?

Joy’s eyes instinctively hunted for Silas. There he was, tucked behind her feet, almost under the seat. What would he do when they arrived at Diamond Estates? As long as he stayed on her side, it would be fine. At least that’s what she kept telling herself.

“Hop on out. I’ll grab your bags.” Mark opened the back door of the van and reached in for the two suitcases Mom had packed. Joy shouldered her backpack and picked up her carry-on. She climbed from the vehicle and planted her feet on the crunchy snow.

Her eyes were drawn upward as she gazed at the elaborate stone structure that stood before her. And that had probably stood there for centuries. “This is it? This place is amazing.”

Mark nodded and smiled. “Welcome to Diamond Estates.”

Joy turned in a complete circle. The forest to her back. The snowy mountainscape that spread for miles in every direction. Then back at the place she’d call home for the next little while.

She took a step closer, taken in by the stained glass windows, each depicting a scene from the Bible. “Those are beautiful.” She stepped among the shrubbery near the front window and reached a hand up to touch the colored, hand-laid glass. Her fingers danced over the flowers and greenery of the Garden of Eden then rested on the shards that formed the serpent. The sunlight bounced off the amber, giving the snake a golden glow. Mesmerizing …

Joy snatched her fingers away and glanced at Mark. Had he seen?

“Yeah.” Mark stared at the rainbow over the arc at the top of the window by the garden scene. “They’re my favorite part of this whole place.” Mark gestured her toward the front door.

Joy stepped up onto the porch, Silas glued to her side.

“Now just so you know, this is the main house, but you won’t be staying here right away.”

Joy eyed him. So, she’d be in solitary confinement?

“We have a new outbuilding that we use for newcomers and people who are in need of some intense or more individualized time with us. You’ll be camping out there for a little bit, but you’ll move over here sooner than you think.” He swung open a wooden door that had to be twice as tall as him. It creaked as it opened. Creepy.

How awesome. Joy turned and took in the wall sconces and the ornate chandelier. The portraits on the walls reminded her of a haunted mansion—if their eyes moved … she was out of there.

The entire place was right out of some kind of old horror movie. Looked like Joy may have jumped right out of the frying pan into the fire when she arrived at Diamond Estates.

“What’s that room there?” Joy pointed at a cavernous space surrounded by stained glass windows on all sides, beanbag clusters throughout the room, and mats on the floor. She moved into the entrance and gazed up at the wooden candelabras that hung from the ceiling.

Mark smiled into the room and patted the framed entryway. “This is where the magic happens.”

Joy leaned her shoulder against the arched frame. The stained glass windows captivated her. The crucifixion scene, the garden scene she’d examined from the outside, all the stories she’d been told as a child in Sunday school, in beautiful stained glass. Amazing.

And there was the Nativity. Baby Jesus lay in the center window, pure and proud, while His parents looked down in awe from just behind Him. Gazing at their son, who would claim to be the Son of God. Did they know that then? Joy felt herself drawn to that window, to that baby. She took a step forward…. How could she have been a part of that burning? The sacrifice of something so innocent. Symbolic or not.

She felt a tug on her sleeve. Silas uttered a low growl. Just enough to let her know he wasn’t happy. He pulled back on Joy’s shirt.

What if Joy refused to go in? Would Mark notice?

Joy hung back and smiled into the room. “It’s awesome. Love the windows.” She turned toward the front door. “Can we go outside now?”

Mark’s eyebrows furrowed. “Um. Well, we haven’t gotten very far on our tour. How about if we—”

“Well, hello!” A voice boomed down the massive staircase. “You guys made it up the mountain a little faster than I expected.” A stately man with plenty of silver in his black hair descended the staircase to the foyer like an old butler.

He paused about halfway down. His eyes twinkled, and a grin spread across his face as he hopped up sideways onto the banister and slid to the ground.

Um … Joy stepped back. Who on earth was that?

He stuck out a hand. “I’m Ben. Ben Bradley, the director here at Diamond Estates. Welcome.”

What was this guy all about? He’d either be super weird or kind of cool. Joy leaned toward weird for the moment. “It’s nice to meet you. I’m Joy Christianson.”

“Joy. Christianson.” Ben closed his eyes and smiled like he listened to a piano piece playing in his head. “That name. Oh, it’s pure luxury. It’s … divine.”

Yeah. Weird. Definitely.

His eyes flew open. “Well. I’m going to get Ginny, who happens to be Mark’s wife, over here while you finish up with the downstairs tour. Ginny’s going to be your one-on-one companion for the first couple of weeks you’re here. I’m going to have her show you around the rest of the place and get you settled in.” He spun away on his heels, pulled out his cell phone, and pressed a number.

“Trust me. You’re going to love Ginny.” Mark smiled. “She’s a gem.”

“Uh-huh.” Now if only Joy could see into the future and know how the whole thing was going to play out. Certainly this wasn’t going to be a walk in the park. Would they expect her to do things that would upset Silas? Joy looked down at her side. When it came to her following through with the plan, Silas would definitely have something to say about it.