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My hair blew in all directions, partially obstructing my vision, and all three spirits fought against the suction.
Mishiginebig took advantage of the badgers’ distraction and grabbed one of them, dragging it toward the water. It clung to the railing, its back half hanging over the sound. The other one ran across the deck and leaped for the roof, its claws sinking into the metal of the lower section.
“The ocean waves and the raindrops in the sky. I am life and death and everything in between.”
The badger slunk up the gently sloped roof until he was almost level with me. A smile lifted his mouth, his sharp teeth glistening in the moonlight, just before he swung his claws toward my stomach. I cringed, waiting for the pain as I forced myself to finish the last line.
“I compel you to leave my sight.”
The badger was lifted into the air, his claws just inches from my face, and sucked into the vortex. Mishiginebig and the other badger shrieked as they suffered the same fate. Mishiginebig’s head was sucked inside and his long, serpentine body continued to lift from the water into the twister for what felt like forever. The swirling circle grew tighter and tighter until the tip of his tail disappeared, then the vortex with it.
I collapsed against the railing, fighting sobs of fright and relief. Sirens filled the air, and I whipped around to see red flashing lights bouncing off the fog clouds that shrouded the streets. Several police cars screeched to a halt.
I was on top of the one-story lighthouse with no easy way down, destruction all around me.
Now I was really screwed.
Chapter18
Isat against the railing for a moment, waiting for Tom to appear. A crowd had gathered at the end of the pier. The cloud layer and lack of lighting still hid me from the people on the street. I could either wait to get caught and be forced to come up with a logical explanation. Or I could try to get away.
Climbing over the railing, I glanced back toward the street again. Several police officers were heading down the pier.
I hunched down, trying to stay hidden in the darkness as I lowered myself to the metal roof. I slid on my backside to the bracket I’d used to climb up. Leaning over, I grabbed hold of it and lowered myself to what was left of the upper deck. A bolt of pain shot through my leg when I landed.
The clump of footsteps on the pier sped up my heart. There was only one way to escape.
I stepped through one of the holes the badgers had created and plunged into the water.
Vegetation brushed my legs while my head was still submerged, causing me to panic. I pushed up to the surface, telling myself I was in salt water, my new natural habitat. But the usual energy surge I felt in the ocean was missing, replaced by a dull thrum.
I swam backward, under the lighthouse, as approaching footsteps clattered on the deck over my head.
“What in God’s name destroyed the deck like this?” Tom’s voice was unmistakable.
“I thought I saw something on the roof,” someone else said.
I needed to find a way out of here quickly. It would be a matter of minutes before they started searching the water for a suspect.
Moving slowly so I didn’t splash, I started swimming around the lighthouse support beams, heading toward the pier. I had to duck under the horizontal supports of the pier, but thankfully a crowd of curious onlookers appeared to have gathered near the lighthouse, and their loud voices covered the small splashes I made. If I could continue under the boardwalk and around the edge of downtown to the swimming ladder behind the Tranquil Inn, I’d be able to climb out with my injured leg, and I’d hopefully be far enough away that no one would notice me.
My plan worked perfectly, but it took me several minutes of slow swimming to reach the ladder, and I needed to dodge a few docked sailboats to get there. By the time I pulled myself up the metal ladder, my leg was throbbing.
I skirted the side of the hotel, looking at the crowd that had gathered down at the end of the street. I had no idea how I’d get to my apartment in my sopping wet clothes without attracting attention.
I hobbled a couple of blocks west, then south. Thankfully, most of the people who were still out were gathered by the pier.
The insides of the Dare Inn and the residential house were both lit up. I ducked in the side door of the house and headed to the laundry room to grab a towel from the dryer. Wrapping it around my shoulders, I slipped into the butler’s pantry to get the first-aid kit that Myra kept hidden there. I had just pulled it out when David appeared in the doorway, his face drawn.
“Ellie. Where in bloody hell were you? Myra is frantic. We rang your mobile and went to your apartment. She’s waiting over by the lighthouse; she was sure you had something to do with the disturbance there.” His gaze dropped to my leg. “I’m guessing she was right.”
“Call her and tell her that I’m fine. I don’t want her to worry.”
He pulled his phone from his pocket and called Myra, speaking in hushed tones. After he hung up, he frowned.
I flinched as I dabbed the five-inch-long claw marks on my leg with an alcohol swab.
“I hate that I just lied to your mother. You’re obviously not fine.”
