The Grey Girl, The Van Tassel Murders

Emily shook off Alistair as soon as they left the room, and the banshee immediately flew to her side. Emily’s anger was obvious, as was her fear. The tentative alliance she had with Alistair was already failing, and now this demon had arrived to make matters worse. Frowning, she headed toward the room she had never been able to get into—Henry’s sanctuary. This time, this time would be different. This time Alistair would be able to break the enchantments. Before they started fighting they had found the spell to let them in.

Her path was suddenly blocked by a ball-shaped creature. Her frown increased as Simon tapped a long-nailed toe against the hardwood floor. “What do you want, my lord?” Emily demanded. “You agreed I had until the end of my contract.”

The banshee looked ready to attack. Simon snapped his fingers and the banshee began to burn from the bottom of its ragged sheet up to its elongated face, screaming all way. Emily eyed the demon with wary eyes.

“We’ve been waiting for over one hundred years for you to fulfill your contract,” Simon explained. “I was willing to give you more time, but alas, others do not seem to believe you will be able to come through. I am sorry, but your time has run out. As your deal remains unfulfilled, and certain circumstances have arisen, I am sorry,”–he did not look it—“but I don’t believe I you will be able to honor the terms. Alas, I am afraid the debt has come due.” He shrugged his barely visible shoulders, letting his statement hang in the air.

“I’m close! I almost have her. Also, I have until midnight tomorrow to complete the agreement,” Emily argued.

“Close?” Simon sighed. His red-yellow eyes closed and slowly opened again. “You’ve had many chances over the years. Every time, you’ve let them slip away. More specifically, they were scared away by your husband.”

“He was never my husband,” Emily growled.

Simon waved his hand, fanning away her comment. “It matters not.”

“I will get you what you need. Alistair will open the room, and then we shall have her body. Once I am whole I can fulfill the terms.”

Simon rolled slightly to one side. “What good is that shriveled husk? You need a living body. You were too quick to rip her soul away without understanding what you were even dealing with.”

“She was dead and returned. That would make her immortal,” Emily shot back.

Alistair stepped out of a shadow, where he had been listening, unseen by either of the others. “I was speaking with Simon before you tried to kill us.” He gave a pained smile to the demon. “He told me some interesting truths. I wonder, how exactly did you expect to fulfill what you promised to me if you could never fulfill his deal?”

“How dare you!” Emily screeched. The succubus inside her fought to be released. “You failed to deliver the girl.” Emily continued as Simon turned to see Alistair’s reaction. “You could have brought me any number of girls. Instead, you have butchered every woman and girl you have ever run across.”

“They were not right, not good enough,” Alistair countered.

“And who are you to know what is right or good enough?” Emily snarled.

“Without me, you get nothing. You need me. I think we need to renegotiate our arrangement.”

“Enough,” Simon said. Although his voice never increased in volume or inflection, the word sounded like thunder in the foyer. “Deals within deals. Lies within lies. My patience is at an end.” He began to massage the bridge of his small, upturned nose. “Either deliver what you have promised, or I shall be forced to collect on your debt.”

“The girl we need, her body is in there.” Emily pointed to a closed door. “Therefore, she is trapped here. We only need to catch her and reunite body and soul.”

Simon took a step to the side. “Be my guest.” He bowed as much as his round body would allow. “Be warned, though, she is not alone.” Straightening, he closed his eyes, cocking his body slightly as if listening. “Oh dear, more allies have arrived.” His eyes flew open. He stared accusingly at Emily. “A witch’s totem is with her. She must not be allowed to call that particular witch for aid.” For the first time, concern crept into his voice.

“That interfering Scottish cow,” Emily growled. “She has been a thorn for far too long. Come on,” she ordered Alistair.

Neither she nor Alistair noticed the evil smirk twitching the corner of Simon’s mouth as they moved toward the closed door. “Oh, one more slight detail I might have forgotten to mention,” Simon added calmly. Emily and Alistair froze. “I never mentioned the time zone.”

“Time zone?” Emily asked, confused.

“Yes, my dear.” Simon laughed quietly as he slowly began to vanish. “I never mentioned in which time zone the midnight contract was due.” His laughter echoed and died as he disappeared completely.

***

Alex’s feet hit the porch as the car carrying Aaron and Arthur skidded to a halt. Before his hand reached the knob, the door was thrown wide by Henry. Advancing, Alex nearly tripped over a sleek black shadow as it shot through the opening. It was joined immediately by the ghostly cat. Ignoring the animal, Alex burst into the wide foyer, crying, “Chloe!”

Hearing her name, Chloe grabbed Amelia’s arm, “That’s Alex. Come on!” she shouted.

Amelia allowed herself to be dragged along to the top of the stairs. Her arm was pulled from Chloe’s grip as her eyes went wide as saucers. She gasped when her eyes locked onto another’s at the bottom of the stair.

“Amelia,” Henry gasped, taking a step forward.

“Henry,” Amelia sighed in longing.

Looking past Amelia, Alex saw the woman he loved. “Chloe.”

“Alex,” Chloe replied with a shout.

“Dad!” Aaron called, pulling his father into a one-armed hug.

“Aaron, knock it off.” Arthur frowned, pushing his laughing son from him.

“Well, does that cover the introductions?” Alistair asked, stepping lightly out of a shadow. Emily appeared behind him, her evil smile plastered across her face. The quick laugh of the reunited died at his question. The only sound for a moment was the hiss of the ghost cat as it poured out its dislike for Emily.

For her part, Emily only laughed cruelly. “When I am whole again, I will utterly destroy you.” She pointed menacingly at the animal. “I will leave nothing of you, not even a cold spot on the floor to haunt.”

“Never trust anyone who hates cats,” Chloe murmured. The black cat was snaking around her ankles, purring loudly. Amelia looked at her questioningly. “What?” Chloe protested. “They’ve grown on me.”

“That is excellent advice,” Lewis acknowledged, stepping over the threshold. The three groups stared at each other in turn. Spells crackled in hands, tension gripped the room tightly. No one moved until there was a sudden interruption.

“Well, this is quite interesting,” Simon stated as he padded into view. “You’ve got the living and the dead, and …” He frowned at Alistair and Lewis. “The in-between.” He rubbed his long-fingered hands together. “This should be exciting.” He grinned wickedly as he began to pet the ghost cat.

As the ghost cat looked from Simon to Emily, its back arched, the tail twitched, and it hissed its hate. Emily returned the hiss, apparently ready to throw fire at it.

When a second hiss met her ears, her eyes searched for the source. Seeing the black cat with Chloe, Emily screamed accusingly, “How is that here? You’re in league with Liza!”

She glared at Simon, who just looked at the cat. He nodded to Amelia, who looked a bit taken aback at the acknowledgment of a demon.

“You’ve shown them how to use the totem!” Emily screeched.

“Liza?” Simon questioned. “You couldn’t possibly be referring to the red-haired witch of Salem?” He scratched at his non-existent chin. “But that was so long ago.” He grinned maliciously. Emily growled her hatred, but Amelia gasped.

“Chloe, come with me.” Quickly, Amelia pulled her back when Alex called out to her as glass exploded behind him. “Thank you, Fear.” Amelia nodded to the cat, who returned the nod before bounding down the stairs.

Emily cursed, throwing spells across the foyer as Fear and the ghost cat blocked her way. They swiped at and hissed at her. Seeing her occupied, Alistair began flinging curses of his own, only to have them blocked by Henry and Lewis.

“Find Chloe’s body!” Alex shouted.

“In that room, in there!” Henry cried, pointing to the right.

“Chloe!” Alex called, throwing his arms over his head to shield himself from falling plaster and splintered wood. Running, he took the stairs two at a time.

Amelia, Chloe firmly in hand, disappeared back into Amelia’s old bedroom. “Where is it? Where?” Amelia demanded of the room, tossing dusty clothes out of her drawers and armoires.

“What are we looking for?” Chloe asked exasperatedly. Her attention was torn between wanting to help and wanting to go to Alex, who continued to call out to her.

Amelia stopped and stared at Chloe, “My luggage! I need to find my pin.”

“Your luggage?” Chloe questioned. Like clouds after a storm, the confusion cleared across Chloe’s brow. “The cellar,” she shouted, grabbing Amelia’s arm again. Together they slipped through the floor, down and down until they were in the musty basement. The sound of fighting was muffled yet still caused Chloe terror. If something happened to Alex, Aaron, or Arthur, she swore there would be nothing to stop her vengeance on Emily. Bur first she had a more pressing problem to deal with: the basement was completely dark. She could feel Amelia next to her but could not see her in the ink-black room.

Suddenly, there was light as Lewis appeared through the wall, holding a lit candle. He walked straight to the back of the room. “I believe this is what you are looking for.” He pointed at a battered leather bag. He bowed and smiled. “If you will excuse me, I think it is time to assist Henry as only I can.” He pulled a bayonet from one sleeve and a silver letter opener from the other before rising up through the ceiling.