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He shook his head. “Whatever this is, we can’t just wave our magic wands and say, “Go away,”
and expect it to obey. I suppose we can try an exorcism?”
With a slow nod, she said, “Maybe, but first we have to get the people out of here. Look.”
She pointed toward the nearest wal , and Tril ian flashed his light to fol ow. The basement wal , a grungy cream color, was oozing some sort of liquid from a crack. The liquid looked suspiciously familiar and I crept close, inhaling the scent. Hel . Blood.
“Don’t look now, but we’ve got an Amityvil e situation on our hands. That’s blood.”
“Amityvil e was a hoax. This isn’t.” Camil e let out a long breath. “Come on, let’s find the ghost hunters and get them out of here.” She reached in her pocket and pul ed out her own flashlight, switching it on as she began to stride forward. As her light splashed through the area, we saw the opposite wal . A door leading into yet another room stood open.
“They must be in there,” she whispered.
We started toward the opening, but before we could take more than a half dozen steps, the door slammed closed and a piercing scream came from the other side. One of the women.
“Damn it, I’ve had enough of this.” I raced ful tilt at the door and grabbed the knob, yanking on it, but something was holding it closed from the other side. Whatever it was, it was just as strong as I was, and I had a feeling that an icy chil was seeping through the door like a thick fog.
Smoky reached my side and motioned for me to stand aside. I did, and he stepped back, then gave one tremendous kick to the door, splintering it to shreds. The look on his face was grim, and he motioned for Morio and Camil e.
“You two—do something.”
Morio put his hands on Camil e’s shoulders and she spread her arms wide. “Mordente vanis, mordente konkor, mordente vanis en shau te Netherworld.”
Camil e dropped her head back, her eyes rol ing up in her head. As the faint purple light began to filter between them again, there was another crash as yet another lightning bolt splintered the air and she suddenly swung around, her eyes bloodred and the look on her face murderous.
“No, you shal not pass!” As she thrust one arm forward, a bolt of lightning forked from her hand, hitting me directly in the shoulder. The electrified tuning rod knocked me off my feet, singeing my shirt, but it did no more than stun me. Five inches to the southwest and it would have struck me in the heart and quite possibly dusted me.
As I shook my head, struggling to regain my footing, Morio smacked Camil e across the face.
Hard. Hard enough to drop her. She screamed as a dark fog lifted from her shoulders, out of her eyes and mouth, then slumped to the floor.
Smoky roared but managed to restrain himself from attacking Morio. Tril ian raced to Camil e’s side while Shade helped me to my feet.
“Wil someone tel me what the fuck just happened?” I shook my head to clear the ringing in my ears.
“Some entity just tried to take over Camil e—it sent the bolt at you, not her.” Morio shook his head. “We don’t dare use any aggressive magic in here—not now that we know it can possess her. If it had taken hold of me, you might have had to kil me because I’m one hel of a lot stronger than she is.”
I pushed past them and through the door. “The fuck with this—where are those people?”
“We’re here!” The cry came from the right, and I turned toward the voice. There, at the end of the hal , huddled a group of five people. Four were on the ground, two of them conscious. The woman we’d been talking to was crouching behind them, the look on her face one of sheer terror.
I raced down the hal , ignoring the invisible hands that reached for me from the wal s, and crouched beside her. She looked up at me and cringed.
“You’re a vampire!”
“Yeah, and you’re not. I’m here to help you, so either deal with it or we’l pack up and leave.” I quickly examined the three figures who were dead to the world. One real y was—dead, that is.
One was hurt and unconscious; the other appeared to be fine but her eyes were closed. A fifth figure—a woman—sat propped against one of the wal s with a jacket draped over her. By the odd way her leg stuck out, it was obvious that she’d broken it.
“What’s your name?” I glanced at the woman who’d led us here. She looked relatively unhurt.
But the haunted expression in her eyes told me she’d never be the same after this experience. I recognized that look—the look of trauma and nightmares and flashbacks.
“Leia. Don’t laugh,” she said in a hoarse voice. “My parents were Star Wars freaks.” She shifted. “I think Lance is dead.”
I checked the pale young man’s pulse. Nothing. “Yeah, I’m afraid he is. Who’s this?” I motioned toward the other woman with the broken leg.
“Teri. She broke her leg trying to get away from . . . whatever that creature is . . .” Leia gently patted Teri’s arm. “She’s in shock from the pain, I think. I put my jacket over her to keep her warm.
