AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Well said,” Mama affirms. She turns back to pat my arm. “Now I think we all need to sit down and talk about this spirit.”
She turns and walks out of the room, and we instinctively know to follow. I start out first, Pocus and Seer on my heels. I’m furious with them, but that will have to be dealt with later. Whatever Mama wants to share with us is our top priority.
We follow her out to the front porch, where she sinks into a rocking chair and indicates for us to do the same. She doesn’t want to talk inside the house, likely worried we’ll be overheard.
“Hex is right,” she finally says. “Whatever that girl is, she’s not your poltergeist. So you will leave him alone about her.”
It shocks me how Mama is so sure about it. Then again, nothing Mama says and does makes sense to me. For the moment, I appreciate she’s on my side and that she sees what I do.
“Tell me about the girl, child,” she says to me. “How did you meet her? I need to understand how she came into your life.”
It’s a complicated answer, but Mama needs the absolute truth.
“I dreamt about her first. Before I ever saw her, she was coming to me in dreams.”
Mama stiffens in her chair, and her mouth opens in silent shock. Despite the humid air, her expression sends a chill through me.
“What’s been brought into this house lately?” she whispers mysteriously. “What’s changed?”
Pocus rolls his eyes and groans. “You want to hear every single thing we’ve brought into the house over the last few weeks, Mama? That would take us hours.”
She fixes him with another chastising stare, causing him to shrink back.
“Don’t get smart with me, boy. You know what I’m asking. What artifacts have entered this house that are out of the ordinary? Think hard, it could be anything.”
“Well, Anderson’s lawyer sent me this ugly fucking vase a few days ago,” Pocus answers petulantly. “I threw it away immediately. It didn’t even come in the house.”
“What did the vase look like?”
“I don’t know,” he hedges. “It was kind of brown and ugly with these old-fashioned handles and inscriptions everywhere. And there was this green stone inlaid in the neck. It looked like something my aunt used to keep at her home.”
His description piques my interest. I’m suddenly reminded of the green stone sitting by my bedside.
“Someone threw a green rock into my window,” I tell them suddenly. “When they vandalized my room. I kept it because it looked interesting.”
Everyone stares at me like I’m an idiot.
“Go get it,” Mama instructs me.
I worry she’s playing a trick, though she isn’t the type. I stare at her, though, waiting for the punchline.
“What are you waiting for, child? A written invitation from the Queen? Go!” she commands authoritatively.
I immediately go into the house. When I reach my room, I look at the bedside table, but the rock isn’t there. I was sure I saw it this morning. I was staring at it when I couldn’t sleep. But it vanished. I check under the bed and my chest of drawers, but it isn’t anywhere to be found. This is just fucking perfect.
I walk slowly back out to the porch, once again feeling useless. I’m at my wit’s end with things not working out for me.
“You should have called me,” I hear Mama telling Pocus in a patronizing tone. “You know better than to get rid of magical objects. It could be the key to this.”
“Am I supposed to call you every time something ugly comes through our door?”
“You’d have to call her every time a new member wants to join,” Seer jokes, and I hear the sound of two grown men being hit over the head.
I walk out in time to see them rubbing their skulls, but I’ll be joining them in their pain soon. I defensively run my hand through my hair.
“The rock is gone,” I tell Mama hesitantly. “I don’t know what happened to it. I swear it was there this morning.”
She sighs heavily and shakes her head, standing up slowly. We hear her bones crack with every inch she straightens. “You men are useless,” she tells us exasperated. “You need to find that vase,” she says, pointing at Pocus. “You need to find that rock,” she tells me. “And you,” she says, turning to Seer. “You need to take care of your wife and child.”
