Page 84 of The Witching Hours

“That’s an offer too good to refuse,” she said.

“You name the place. Just one thing. I need some muscle to bring my bag up to the second level.”

“I’ll do it,” Mason said.

David laughed. “Let your old man show off this time, bud.”

David picked a place for dinner that was close and unremarkable in every way except for two things. First, we didn’t have to cook. Second, there was a large booth in an out-of-the-way corner that easily accommodated our party of six. It even had a little wiggle room for Dart.

Every one of the Campbells had a haunted look about them, but the barely veiled fear oozing from Alex and Dart bothered me most.

“Mason,” I said. His head jerked up to look at me and, in that moment, I thought I saw an intelligent maturity unusual for someone his age. “Do you know why I’m here?”

He looked at his parents for permission. David and Molly both nodded.

“You’re going to help us stop the stuff that’s going on,” he said.

“I’m going to try. Tell me, what scares you the most about the stuff going on?”

Again, he glanced at his parents before he answered. He lowered his voice to a whisper and leaned forward. “They pick on Alex.” He didn’t try to tell me he wasn’t scared and got points from me for that.

“Do you have any idea why?” When he shrugged, I caught a look pass between Molly and David. “There’s no right or wrong answer. I’m interested in your impressions.”

“She’s different.”

“Different how?”

He shrugged again. “She’s… I don’t know. On the right channel.”

I had no idea what he meant by that. I looked at Alex to see if she was giving away any feelings about the conversation.

“Alex. Does that mean anything to you?” She shook her head. “I heard you were trapped in your room and couldn’t openthe door. Do you want to talk about what happened?” She shook her head again. “Okay. You don’t have to.”

With a suddenness that startled, she looked up and words burst out of her like a geyser. “I didn’t like that. And they took my blanket.”

“I heard.”

She went on. “But I don’t want you to hurt them.”

Now that was interesting. In her place, I think I’d want them rent asunder.

“No?” She shook her head. “Why not?”

“Because they’re not just being mean. They want something.”

Again, I saw Molly and David share a wide-eyed look. Apparently, she hadn’t opened up like this.

“Do you know what they want, Alex?”

She nodded. “They want us to leave.” She was very matter of fact about it and punctuated the thought by putting a meatball in her mouth. You would’ve thought it was the most natural thing in the world to be discussing supernatural phenomena over dinner.

“Did they tell you that?” She scrunched up her face a little while chewing and seemed to be thinking about it. Decision made, she shook her head. “You just know?”

She nodded. “Uh-huh.”

I could relate to that. It’s hard enough trying to describe unusual things as an adult. Children don’t have the vocabulary or scope of experience to convey out-of-the-ordinary events.

I looked at Mason then Dart. “Do either of you have anything you want to add? No tidbit or detail is without value.”

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