The ghosts are protecting us, I realized. They’re trying to hold back the bad guys.
“Go!” Sorren shouted.
Two of the demon minions hurtled through the door, but Sorren was faster, slashing into them with his ensorcelled sword. Teag lit the blue-black candle, and it was like he switched on a search light, because a blinding flare of light illuminated a path to the car, driving back the shadow men.
“Run!” Sorren commanded, and we ran, standing as close together as possible.
“It’s coming!” I yelled, as the thing on the stair reached the landing. The light from Teag’s lantern only carved out the way ahead of us, leaving the rest of the room in shadow, so I couldn’t see the creature. I was pretty sure I didn’t want to.
More demon minions launched themselves at us as we ran for the car, but Teag’s lantern and Sorren’s sword made them draw back.
The thing behind us thundered closer, and it sounded as if sharp talons were ripping up the floorboards as it ran. Its breath stank like the bottom of a dumpster on a hot day in August, and something grabbed at the back of my shirt.
I pivoted, changing my grip on the walking stick as I moved, touching the wood and leveling its silver tip at the monstrosity in the shadows.
Fire blasted from the walking stick like an arc welder. It was too bright to watch, so I didn’t get a good look at whatever was hot on our heels, but that was all right with me. The creature shrieked, and I glimpsed its many limbs flailing against the white-hot fire. The vision overwhelmed me.
I saw an aristocratic young man with blue eyes, blond hair and a slightly crooked nose, and recognized Alard, Sorren’s maker. He was dressed like a dandy, but I saw the sheer force of will in his eyes, and knew he was much, much older than he appeared.
I glimpsed the walking stick in Alard’s grip as three bat-winged monsters flew at him, ripping at his clothing with their long talons, striking with their barbed, whip-like tails, keening like banshees with an ear-splitting howl. I could feel his fear, but beneath the fear was confidence in his training and in the silver-tipped walking stick he brandished like a sword.
One of the bat-things lurched at Alard, raking his shoulder with its claws. Alard leveled the walking stick and spoke a word I did not understand, and the same blue-white blinding fire burst from the cane. It burned through one of the creature’s wings before he swung it toward the others, cutting one of the monsters in half and blasting the third backwards with a hole where its distended chest had been.
The vision winked out as Sorren threw me into the car and Teag floored the gas before Sorren was even seated, laying rubber as he peeled away from the cursed house.
“They’re still watching,” I said.
“True,” Sorren acknowledged. “But they haven’t followed.”
“That can’t be Moran’s or the demon’s focal point, because the shadows didn’t seem to be able to leave the property,” I said, forcing myself to be clinical to avoid collapsing in a twitching bundle of nerves. “But it has definitely become a lesser focal point – similar to the Foo dog.”
“The shadow men are a nasty piece of work,” Sorren admitted, “And they’re gaining energy from whatever’s behind this. But no, I agree that we haven’t found the source.”
“The guy with the button – Kevin – he thought he was being pursued,” I said. “He witnessed one of the killings when he was returning to the place that he’d been stealing from.” “Did you get a last name?” Teag asked.
I shook my head. “No. But it’s very possible that he died in the rooming house, so maybe that will narrow it down.”
“I’ll see what I can do. If I can’t find anything online, maybe Anthony’s sources can help,” Teag said. He had inherited his ancient Volvo from his grandmother, and it creaked and groaned as it bounced along the crumbling roads of the abandoned Navy yard but kept on going.
“In the meantime, I’ll ask Lucinda for her assistance,” Sorren said. “The house as it stands is dangerous. That makes it Trifles and Folly’s business to contain. Perhaps she can work a spell that makes sure its malice doesn’t extend beyond the walls. Until we can get it exorcised.”
Personally, I thought a wrecking crew might be even more effective, but I held my peace. Given the fuss I’d kicked up with the ghosts, I wouldn’t imagine that they would take well to having a demolition crew on the premises. And after the demonstration we had seen, I feared the spirits that remained at Dennison’s Rooming House could be a lot more dangerous than we knew. I didn’t want to wish them on anyone.
“Kevin’s ghost came back to protect us at the end,” I said quietly. “So did Jimmy Redshoes, and other people I didn’t recognize.” I decided that I needed to see photos of the men who had been killed, determine whether they had been among our ghostly champions. “There were five young men whose ghosts looked familiar,” I said, thinking aloud. “I don’t know where I’ve seen them before, but I know I recognized them from somewhere.”
“I’m on it,” Teag said. “We’ll figure it out.”
We were silent for a few moments as Teag navigated the twisting roads as quickly as he dared. Finally, I looked down at the walking stick in my hands. My grip had shifted back to the cloth-covered portion of the cane, but the vision I had seen was still clear in my memory. “This was Alard’s?” I asked, looking at Sorren.
A shadow seemed to pass over Sorren’s face, and he looked away. “Yes,” he said quietly. “It served him well. I guessed that since you could see the memories in my ring, you could access the resonance in the walking stick.” He gave a wan smile. “It’s a powerful weapon.
“You’ll forgive me if I’m a bit overprotective,” he said, still staring out the side window of the Volvo. “I lost my friends once to a demon and its master. I’ll be damned if I’ll let that happen again.”
Chapter Fifteen
THE NEXT DAY was beautiful, and likely to be hot, so I enjoyed the relative cool of the morning and took Baxter on a longer than usual walk, resolutely trying to push the terror of the night before from my mind. Watching Baxter romp and pounce lifted my mood, and when we returned home I was even more thrilled to find my Mini Cooper, or at least a similar Mini Cooper, parked outside looking as good if not better than before our escapade. By the time we went back inside, I knew Baxter was tired enough that he would take a long nap until I came back to feed him at lunch.
I was tired after last night, so I swung into Honeysuckle Café for a dose of caffeine. There was a line, and both Trina and Rick were pulling shots of espresso as fast as the machines would go.
“Whadaya hear, Rick?” I asked.
He shrugged. “Nothing much.” Without my having to order, he made my favorite skinny double latte and added a dollop of sugar free vanilla.
“Good to see you out and about, Cassidy!” Drea sidled up when I left the counter, clutching her own takeout cup and a bag with a muffin. Just then, a nearby table opened up, and by mutual agreement, we decided to play hooky for a few moments.
“What’s new in the carriage tour world?” I asked.
Drea’s smile twisted. She looked around the cafe to see if any out-of-towners were close enough to hear. “I was at the Business Booster meeting last night. There’s talk about increased security, with all the deaths out by the Navy yard.”
“That’s a good thing, right?” I said, but inwardly, I worried. More cops on patrol could make it harder for us to get to the bottom of whatever was going on.