Page 79 of Haunted By You
“What happened?”
Erielle spilled out the story, her voice a little choked with emotion as she described the ghost, their escape, his fall.
“Gigi was there,” she murmured. “She protected me. Us, I think. From Millicent. I know she was there. Hattie.” Erielle reached across the table for the other woman’s hand. “If we bind Millicent, are we binding Gigi, too? I can’t do that to her.”
“We need to set your grandmother free,” Hattie said. “She doesn’t want to be in that house any longer. We can’t set Millicent free because who knows where she will roam. But Angeline, yes, we need to free her before we bind Millicent.”
The devastation on Erielle’s face had Sam reaching for her again, and this time she didn’t resist, leaning into his good shoulder.
“And you?” Hattie asked him. “You’re all right?”
“Seventeen stitches, nothing broken.” He would have shrugged but didn’t want to dislodge Erielle. “I’m all right.”
“We can’t let you go back into that house. You rile her up. But here’s what we have to do.” She straightened, taking a deep breath, holding his gaze. “We need your mother.”
“Absolutely not.” The words snapped out of his mouth. “You saw what happened to her yesterday. We’re leaving Phantom Bayou because it’s too dangerous for her to be here. And you want her to go into that house, face that thing?”
Hattie remained stoic. “We need five. We have Erielle to replace Angeline, but we need your mother. She’s powerful, Sam.”
“But she’s not strong.” He shook his head. “No. If Erielle can stand in for Angeline, I can stand in for my mother.”
Hattie’s eyes widened. “No. No. Absolutely not. You make Millicent more dangerous. For you and for all of us.”
He leaned forward, muscles tight, pain throbbing through his shoulder. “I will do whatever you say. You can wrap me in every spell, every charm you’ve got. But I’m not sacrificing my mother to that house.”
Thirty
Sam stood rootedon the cracked sidewalk, staring up at the house he’d barely escaped only hours ago. The sight of it was enough to make his stomach knot. Every instinct screamed at him to turn around, get in the truck, and drive, taking Erielle far from here.
But Erielle’s fingers twined with his, anchoring him in place. She needed him here. Hattie and the others needed him here. And God help him, he was stronger than his mother. Physically, anyway. What the hell would be left of him mentally after today remained to be seen.
Erielle’s voice was low but steady. “After today, she’ll be gone. We’ll be safe.” She hesitated, her eyes flicking to his. “I’ll be safe.”
“After today, she’ll be gone. We’ll be safe,” Erielle murmured. Then, “I’ll be safe,” she amended.
He didn’t want to leave her, not when things were building as they were, but he had to go. His dad was still too weak to help Leslie the way she needed help. Maybe he could get Susan to meet them in Baton Rouge, because it could be easier for her to visit a city instead of the bayou, but first he had to get through this.
He could feel a vibration running through Erielle. She wanted to go inside. He could feel it. She was staying out here for him. But she was pulsing with anticipation. He didn’t think it was just because they were getting rid of Millicent.
But he didn’t want her going in on her own, without him to protect her. And he wasn’t ready to step inside.
Allison was the first to arrive in her little car. She dressed in white, even to a scarf over her dark hair. She looked ethereal. She nearly floated up the walk to them, looked Erielle up and down. Then she handed them each a cloth packet.
“I made these special. Don’t drop them, no matter what.”
“What are they?” Sam asked.
“Protection.” Allison’s tone was matter-of-fact. “She’s not going to go easily.”
“My mom made me protection, and still she came for me.”
“Imagine what would have happened without the protection,” Allison said simply.
No, he didn’t want to do that.
Marie pulled up next, parking her bike behind Allison’s car. She, too, was wearing a long white shirt over her jeans, sleeves rolled up, the rest billowing around her as she came up the walk. Wordlessly, Allison handed her a packet, which Marie tucked into the front pocket of her jeans, so Erielle and Sam did the same.
Finally, Hattie came up the sidewalk, her white dress flaring with each step. She carried a knit shoulder bag stretched to accommodate the books. She, too, took the packet from Allison wordlessly, and tucked it in the neckline of her dress.
