The Ghost Files 3.5 Read online

  She checked on Noah and went to sit back down when a knock sounded at the back door. She froze. Had whoever knocked run around to the back door? Nervous, she crept over to the kitchen door and peered out through the glass pane. The Flynns had a curtain over it, but Mary would rather have a solid door. Especially right now.

  Flipping on the back porch light, she let her gaze roam over the back yard. It looked empty, just the pool and the patio furniture. A loud knock pounded at the front door, and Mary’s head swiveled in that direction. Someone was messing with her, and she didn’t play games. Not after what happened to her. She yanked her cell out and called 911.

  “This is the 911 dispatch. What is your emergency?”

  “Someone is outside.” Mary cut off the porch light and then turned off the kitchen lights. “They keep knocking on the doors and hiding.”

  “Have they tried to get in the house?”

  “Not yet, but I think they might.”

  “What’s your name?” the dispatcher asked and then took down her address as well. “I’m sending a patrol car to your house. Do you need me to stay on the phone until they—”

  The call dropped. Mary groaned. At least the police were coming. She grabbed the butcher knife out of the knife block. Never again would she be weaponless.

  Her mom was working, and Mattie was at the hospital with Dan. No quick help from either of them.

  The banging started on the front door again. Louder and harder, it shook the door on its hinges. She inched closer, not daring to look outside. “I called the cops!” she shouted, and then shot a quick glance at Noah. He was still sleeping. How he could sleep through this, she didn’t know.

  She dialed Mrs. Flynn’s number, but it went to voicemail. She left a message asking her to please call as soon as she heard the message, not telling her anything else. No need to panic her when the police would be here soon. Any police officer who worked this sector had to recognize the Flynns’ name and address.

  Tap…tap…tap.

  What was that? Mary turned slowly, looking in all directions. The only sound was the TV playing quietly. Where had that come from?

  Tap…tap…tap.

  The window. Someone was tapping on the glass.

  Her fingers found Caleb’s number. He answered on the second ring. “Mary?”

  “I need help,” she whispered. “Someone’s outside.”

  “Someone’s trying to get in the house?” She could almost feel the instant alertness that came over him. “Did you call 911?”

  “Yes, but I don’t know how long it will take them to get here.”

  The knocking started again, this time at both the back and front doors. Mary’s hand shook as memories of being kidnapped assaulted her. Of waking up, tied down to a chair, helpless and unable to move. Panic seized her.

  “Mary, turn off all the lights. Make it hard for them to see you. I’m coming. Stay on the phone with me, okay?”

  “Okay.” She did what he said, even cutting off the lamp beside Noah’s makeshift bed.

  “Have you gone outside?”

  “Do you think I’m stupid?” she snapped, her fear making her voice harsher than she’d meant. “I’m a horror movie fan. I know better than that.” A chuckle sounded over the phone. “This is not funny, Caleb.”

  “I know, I’m sorry,” he apologized. “When did this start?”

  “A few minutes…” A scream was pulled from her when the loud banging started right on the wall she was leaning against. She jumped away, her eyes hunting the room.

  “What happened?” Caleb demanded.

  That was inside, not outside. Fear curled in the pit of her stomach. A small laugh echoed in the room, and Mary nearly collapsed. It wasn’t someone messing with her. It was something.

  “I don’t think it’s outside, Caleb,” she whispered, moving to stand by Noah.

  “They got in?” Alarm spiced Caleb’s voice. “Mary get out, get out now.”

  “No, you don’t understand.” She fumbled for the light and finally got the lamp turned on, bathing Noah in the soft white glow. He was still sleeping. “I think it wants Noah.”

  “Where are you?” She heard the dread in Caleb’s voice.

  “I’m babysitting Noah.”

  Footsteps on the stairs caught her attention. They were heavy, like that of a man. She turned to face the stairs, knife held out in front of her.

  “Mary, get Noah and go to your house. Do it now. There are wards up there to protect against demons.”

  Mary reached down and awkwardly picked up the baby. He roused, his sleepy eyes looking up at her.

  “Shh, baby. We’re just going to go across the street to my house.”

  She all but ran to the door, unlocked it, and tried to open it. It wouldn’t budge. She made sure the deadbolt and the doorknob lock weren’t engaged. Neither were, but the door wouldn’t budge. She held Noah tight and moved to the kitchen door. It wouldn’t open either.

  “Caleb, I don’t think it’s going to let us out.”

  “Why? What’s wrong?”

  “The doors won’t open.”

  Fingers grazed her bare arm, and she whimpered, remembering when she’d been blindfolded. She felt fingers running over her skin, deciding where to hurt her. Tears leaked out of her eyes as the horror of those three weeks washed over her. “Please, not again,” she whispered, her voice full of pain and dread.

  “I’m coming, Mary. I swear.”

  She barely heard Caleb as the fear overwhelmed her. Her body shook when she felt those fingers ghosting over her arms, up her throat, down her hips. No…no…no…

  The phone slipped from her fingers, and she cried, closing her eyes. Please, not again, please.

  Noah’s screaming jarred her enough to notice he was clutching her for dear life. Something was pulling at him. Trying to take him out of her arms.

  “No!” she shouted and yanked him tighter to her, doing her best to quell the memories assaulting her. She couldn’t let Noah get hurt.

  That horribly beautiful laugh sounded in her head. “Mine,” he whispered and ripped the baby away from her. Noah shrieked, terrified, and Mary tried to get him back, but then he was gone. Just gone.

  No, where was he? Mary ran to the living room, turning on every light she could find. Noah was nowhere.

  The crackling of the baby monitor sounded, and she whirled, snatching it up off the small table beside the couch. She could hear whispering, hear Noah softly crying. He had to be in the nursery. Turning for the stairs, she stopped when the walls started to shake, the pounding echoing throughout. Footsteps ran through the living room, like several children running.

  Don’t look, Mary told herself and grabbed the railing of the stairs. Her body suddenly felt like it was bogged down, heavy weights tied to her limbs. Her breath left her when she glanced up to the top of the stairs. That same small figure she’d seen in Noah’s room was crouched at the top, its glowing yellow eyes fixed on her.

  It might have once been a child, but whatever it was now, it was full of hate and the need to hurt. Mary saw that in its eyes. It was guarding the way to Noah’s room. This was one battle it wasn’t winning. Mary fought her way up the stairs, the knife clutched in one hand.

  Just as she reached the top step, tiny hands clutched handfuls of her hair, pulling her backward. Mary tumbled down the stairs, the knife she held sliding into the soft skin of her side. She cried out at the pain and lay still for a full minute before moving. She had to get to Noah.

  That thought drove her to her feet, her hand pulling out the knife and throwing it aside. She ran for the staircase, but something grabbed her hair, then yanked and slammed her into the wall. Twice more her face got a full frontal up close and personal with the wall.

  Noah screamed, and Mary groaned. She ran, ignoring the pain as her hair was ripped away from her scalp. She mounted the stairs, noting the thing at the top was gone, and she didn’t feel like her legs were encased in lead. They were both in there with Noa
h. Once she hit the top of the stairs, she ran for the nursery, shoving the door open. There had been resistance, but her adrenaline was running so high she’d pushed right through. The baby sat in his crib, a massive dark figure hunched over him, doing…something.

  Mary couldn’t see what it was doing, but Noah was screaming for all he was worth. Whatever it was, it hurt. Not thinking about it, Mary ran straight for the crib, snatched up the baby, and then ran for the door.

  She heard another pounding at the front door and people shouting. That thing stood by the stairs again. Mary knew it wouldn’t let her near it. She turned and fled into the master bedroom, locking the door behind her. She dared not put Noah down.

  Looking around, she saw the fireplace and the iron poker resting in its holder beside it. Iron. Iron was bad for the supernatural. She remembered from reading it on several sites, and the show Supernatural supported the theory. Couldn’t hurt. She picked it up. It was surprisingly heavy for something so small.

  The doorknob rattled.

  Mary’s nostrils flared, and she maintained a death grip on the poker.

  A loud crash sounded downstairs as the bedroom door splintered inward. A figure stood there, well over six feet, draped in a dark hooded robe of some kind. Shadows cloaked it, and dozens of tiny childlike creatures clustered around its legs. Yellow glowing eyes stared at her, evil glaring at her from hate-filled expressions.

  “Mary!”

  She heard Caleb, but she couldn’t take her eyes off all those children. This thing had done that to them, had turned them into this. Her heart broke. As terrified as she was, her heart still broke for these poor lost little souls. She wanted to cry at the horror of it. Pity filled her.

  A snarl from the hooded creature brought her eyes up. His eyes weren’t yellow, but a dark amber color. They stared at her curiously. “You pity them even though they are going to devour you?”

  “Yes,” she told it, and the simple truth struck her. No matter what had happened to Mary, despite the horrors that had been visited upon her, she still kept her compassion for others, her heart bleeding for their pain.

  “You are…curious.” He took his hood off, and Mary gasped. She’d been expecting some dark, ugly monster. Instead, there stood a man who took her breath away. His strong features looked like they’d been sculpted by the angels themselves. He was beautiful. It was a deadly beauty, but it still caused her to stare. “I am Deleriel.”

  “Mary.” The word slipped out, and she wanted to smack herself. Why had she told him her name?

  “The mother of Christ’s name,” he murmured, his eyes hooding. “We have guests.”

  She could hear them coming up the stairs.

  He walked over to her, his fingers tracing the curve of her face. “Curious, indeed. You aren’t afraid of me.”

  And she wasn’t. She was more afraid of those little creepy children in that moment.

  “You can’t have Noah.” She wrapped her arms tighter around the little boy, who was whimpering, his face buried in her neck.

  “You’re strong, a fighter.” Deleriel’s hand cupped her cheek, and warm sensation washed over her face. “Keep the child. There are more I can harvest.”

  Harvest?

  “Get away from her!”

  Mary turned to see Caleb standing in the doorway. More footsteps pounded up the stairs.

  “We will see each other again, little one,” he whispered and then vanished.

  “Where did he go?” Eli demanded, pushing his way into the room.

  Mary’s vision blurred a little, the sharp sting in her side reminding her of the wound. Her hand pressed against it, and when she pulled it away, blood covered it.

  “Caleb, get the baby,” she managed to get out before her vision darkened and she passed out.

  ***

  Mary came awake a little while later, roused by the steady beeping of machines. She opened her eyes and saw she was in an emergency room hospital bed.

  “Hey, sleepyhead.”

  Mary looked over to see Caleb sitting in a chair beside her. Why was she in the hospital, and why was Caleb here? It took her a moment, but then memories of the last few hours came rushing back, and her eyes widened.

  “Noah?” The panic that filled her voice drove her to try to sit up. She gasped as the pain hit.

  “Don’t do that.” Caleb gently pushed her back down. “Noah is fine. He’s home with his parents.”

  “But…”

  “Dad is taking care of it personally,” Caleb assured her. “He’s demon-proofing the house and placing a protection tattoo on the little boy. Eli is inking him as we speak.”

  “But that hurts…”

  “There’s a doctor who works on Dad’s team over there too, and he put Noah out.”

  Mary let out a sigh of relief. Even if Deleriel broke his word and went back for Noah, he couldn’t easily take him.

  “Are you okay?”

  Mary laughed. This was nothing. “I’m good. When can I go home?”

  “As soon as the doctor clears you of any head trauma. You took a couple hits to your noggin.”

  “Well, my face took a few hits, but not my head.”

  “Are you sure?” Caleb asked. “That would leave bruises, Mary, and there aren’t any bruises on your face.”

  Her hand went up to cup the same cheek Deleriel had. She’d felt an odd sensation when he’d done it. Had he healed her face?

  “Maybe.” Caleb nodded and then laughed at her startled expression. “It’s easy to tell what you’re thinking. You have the most open and honest face I’ve ever seen.”

  “Do you know anything about the demon who attacked us?” Mary asked, trying to divert his attention away from her.

  Caleb shook his head, clearly understanding what she was doing. “Yeah, he’s dangerous. You and Noah are lucky to have survived.”

  “Who is he?”

  “The hand of Lucifer himself.” Caleb hit the nurse’s call button. “Let’s get you checked, and I’ll tell you more tomorrow when you’re feeling better, okay?”

  She nodded and waited until the horde of nurses and doctors who came in were done examining her. Her mother bustled in as well, scared and pale, Mattie right behind her. Mary assured them both she was fine. Caleb had told her mother someone broke into the Flynns’ house, and Mary had saved Noah. Mary wasn’t sure what they’d said to the Flynns, and she was sure he’d told Mattie the truth.

  Two hours later, Mary was declared fit to go home. The knife wound wasn’t deep, but it had bled a lot. It was what had caused her to pass out. They’d treated the blood loss, put her on antibiotics, and sent her home. Caleb told her mom he would drive her and stay until she and Mattie got there.

  Mary dragged herself up the steps and unlocked the door. Before going in, she glanced over at the Flynns’. She could see Caleb’s dad’s car still sitting in the driveway along with two others she didn’t recognize.

  “Why don’t we sit outside for a while?” Caleb suggested when she couldn’t bring herself to open the door. Memories of what had just happened were still too fresh for her to be comfortable going inside.

  She gave him a grateful smile and sat next to him on the porch swing. Caleb was sweet when he wasn’t showing his arrogant gene.

  “Are you okay?” he asked, turning to look at her. “It had to bring back some really horrifying memories for you.”

  She looked over at the Flynns’, the last few hours engraved in her head. It had brought back every moment of her captivity, every awful thing Mrs. Olsen had done to her. She shivered thinking about it.

  “It did.” She looked down, her fingers kneading at each other. “I survived it, though.”

  “Yeah, you did.” Caleb’s voice held a grin. “You’re a fighter.”

  Another shiver snaked down her spine. Caleb’s words mirrored Deleriel’s. He’d promised it wasn’t the last time they’d see each other. It made Mary’s chest tighten with anxiety.

  “Hey.” Caleb’s finger lif
ted her chin, much as it had that day in the woods by the lake. “You’re doing it again. Don’t look away when someone compliments you.”

  Well, dang. Mary was beginning to understand Mattie’s aggravation with Dan’s eyes. He and Caleb had the same eyes, and they were drowning her right now in warmth and fuzzy feelings.

  “About the party tomorrow night…” Caleb leaned in.

  “Yes?” she asked breathlessly.

  “I made up my mind,” he whispered, coming closer.

  “You did?”

  “Mmmhmm.” His breath tickled her lips. “It is a date.”

  Then he kissed her.

  Mary relaxed against him and let all the warm, fuzzy feelings replace the fear and the panic she’d felt all night.

  Maybe things were finally looking up for her.

  ***

  Deleriel watched the girl from the shadows. She was the most curious creature he’d seen since he’d fallen.

  His eyes flickered from the demon hunter she was kissing to the ones now at the boy’s house.

  Tricky, but Deleriel always got what he wanted, and he wanted the ray of sunshine that was Mary Cross.

  The End of Book 3.5

  Acknowledgements

  First, I have to say thank you to all The Ghost Files fans. I took a year off from writing and you guys kept harassing me almost daily for more Ghost Files. You kept the series alive and made me remember why I love my crazy world of spooks. This series would not be where it is today without each and every one of you. The unfaltering faith in this series brings me to tears.

  I also need to say thank you to all the folks over at Wattpad, from the readers to the staff at corporate. My Watty readers are amazing. You guys are the main reason The Ghost Files survived. I had over fifty agents tell me the book wasn’t good enough to sell in the YA market. You all proved them wrong. Your support is the reason I have a publishing deal for the series and a movie deal as well. Thank you. Wattpad HQ…what can I say? You guys rock, from Caitlin to Gavin. You have helped me so much, and I will always support and promote Wattpad because of how great you guys are.