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“Maybe…”Hannasaid doubtfully. “Look, let’s change the subject.Idon’t like talking about him—Ithink he canhearme whenIdo.”
“Allright.Butlet me know if things get worse—or go up toAuntLuna.Youknow she’ll getUncleBruinto send a ship for you.He’lldoanythingfor her,”Samsaid.
“Iknow.”Hannagot that dreamy look in her hazel eyes again. “IwishIcould find a man who would treat me the way he treatsAuntLuna.”
“Well, maybe you can.Ifyou go up to theMotherShipyou might meet aKindred.Preferablyone whodoesn’thave a hugeBeastinside him,”Samsaid dryly.
ButHannashook her head.
“No—they’d just thinkIwas a freak, like human men do.Andhow canIblame them?It’shard to explain that you can see things nobody else can without sounding weird and crazy.EvenMomandDaddidn’t believe me.Youknow they talked about putting me in an institution?”
“Theydid?No—I’msure they didn’t!”Samprotested.Shehad only good memories of their parents, who had died in a traffic accident during one of their monthly “date nights” back when she andHannawere teenagers.
“Yes, they did—Iheard them talking about it,”Hannasaid sadly. “Theywere going to do it for my own good—they thoughtIwas having hallucinations—thatIwas schizophrenic.”
“That’sawful!Whatstopped them?”Samasked.
“AuntLuna.That’swhy she moved back toTampa, you know.Shehad a successful business being aMediuminCaliforniabut she came back toFloridato be close to me and keep mom and dad from putting me away.”Hannasighed. “Thingsdidget better after she came and taught me how to ward off spirits with evil intentions.Buteven her tricks and tips can’t help with…withDarkEntities,”she finished in a whisper.
“Oh,Hanna…”Samsqueezed her sister again. “I’llstay with you tonight if you think it will help.Andevery night for that matter—except forHalloween.Ihave to be out at a ghost site to do a live-stream special then.”
“Doyouhaveto?”Hannafrowned. “Idon’t like it that everyone who’s watching you will know where you are.Whatif some creep tries to track you down?”
“Iwon’t give them the exact location.Anyway,Ihaveto do it orIwon’t have anything to show onHalloween,”Samsaid. “Noneof the footageItook in theBelgraveMansionwas, uh, useable at all.”
Shecleared her throat and tried not to blush as she remembered exactlywhythe footage was unusable.Mainlybecause 95% of it wasR’orngoing down on her.Itmight make good spank-bank material if she ever got over him abandoning her the way he had, but it certainlywasn’tsomething she could post on herSocialMediachannels.
“Willyou be safe?”Hannaasked, looking worried. “Iwish you hadn’t sent that otherKindredProtectoraway!”
“I’llbe fine.Ihave my pepper spray—remember?”Samtapped the black cylinder. “Sodon’t worry about me.”
Hannagave her a weak smile.
“Iwon’t worry about you as long as you don’t worry about me—okay?”
“It’sa deal.”Samsmiled back.
Butinside, she couldn’t help being concerned aboutHanna.She’dnever seen her little sister looking so tired and worn before.WhateverthisDarkEntitywas that was stalking her, fighting it off must really be taking a toll onHanna.
Well, after theHalloweenspecial, she was going tomakeher sister go up to theMotherShipand spend some time with their aunt, she decided.AuntLunawas the only one who had ever really understoodHannawhen they were kids—and the only adult who had believed her when she talked about the dark and horrible things she saw.
Butfor now,Samhad to get ready to do her live show onHalloweennight.Thankgoodness she’d been able to find a new location to film at—one almost as haunted as theBelgraveMansion.
Herviewers were going to love it and she wasn’t going to spend one minute eventhinkingaboutR’orn, she decided.Asfar as she was concerned, the bigKindredwas out of her life.AndHalloweennight was going to be her best show ever!
Shehad no idea what danger she was walking into.Deathwas stalking her and she couldn’t even hear its stealthy footsteps creeping up behind her…
12
SAM
Samlooked around the abandoned mental hospital apprehensively.Alot of bad things had happened here—she couldfeelthe negative energy sweating out of the stained and peeling walls like some kind of psychic ooze.Itwas at times like this that she wished she wasn’t a one-woman-operation.Butshe’d only recently started making enough money to quit her job and ghost-hunt full time.Shewasn’t at the point where she could pay any employees yet.
Imust be standing in the reception area,she thought, trying to shake off the chills that ran up and down her spine.Therewas a rusty old wheelchair against one wall and a wooden desk that had been chopped in two—possibly by an axe.Itssplintered edges stuck up, making shadows on the wall in the brilliant moonlight pouring in through one of the broken windows.
Well, it was a spooky location, but that was what she had been looking for,Samreminded herself.Shenormally got permission before entering an old, abandoned building but in this case, she hadn’t been able to find anyone who the old mental hospital belonged to.Itwasn’t on private property—in fact, nobody seemed to claim the land it was on.Ithad been abandoned for over fifty years and the odors of mold and dirt and rot were strong in her nose.
Samfingered the can of pepper spray which was shoved down the front pocket of her black pleated mini skirt.Ithadn’t been easy to find a skirt like this with pockets, but she’d managed after rummaging through her closet for ages.Shefelt like it was important to keep her only weapon close to hand.
