Page 41 of Stronger Than Blood
“You are a bully, a stupid, evil bully. You don’t belong here. You’ve taken all you will ever get. Now go to hell where you belong!” I screamed so hard I fell back to my knees.
The rattling stopped, and in front of me stood the image of the man who’d tried to kill me all those years ago—Preston Garrison. His head was dripping with blood, his mouth hanging grotesquely open. “Get the fuck out!” I said and rushed him, but Madam and Rory both stepped forward and held me back.
“He’s going,” she said. “He’s going.”
I watched as he faded. When I looked at the walls, the blood had disappeared, but I could still feel the pain around my neckwhere he’d tried to strangle me. Real blood dripped onto my hand, and I realized my nose was bleeding.
“Fuck that asshole. Fuck him!” I yelled again, and within seconds, I was in Rory's arms.
A moment later, Madam held a wet paper towel to my nose.
They led me into the living room and sat on either side of me as I calmed down. Tears rolled down my face as I rocked back and forth. “I’m so sick of him being here. Sick of his attacks against me. Can we not banish him? I want him to suffer. Can we lock him in some horrible prison, somewhere with spikes that stab his soul?” I said, and even though I’d meant it, I chuckled. “Maybe we can fart in a bottle and lock him in there so he has to smell it for eternity.”
Both Madam and Rory chuckled. “You did more just now to control him than I’m guessing even your Granny Ida did. He was feeding off your fears, but he wasn’t prepared for your anger. Although he’ll feed off of that, too, if you aren’t careful.”
I shook my head. “I just want him gone. What can we do to make him leave?”
Madam shrugged. “I don’t know, honey. The spirit world has its own rules, and they flow differently from our own. I do know his attacking you cost him. I felt him get weaker the harder you pushed. He wanted your fear, not someone who fought back. I’m guessing this will calm him down for a while, at least.”
“Long enough for Granny Ida to get home?”
She nodded. “Yeah, long enough for your Granny Ida to get home. Between the two of you, I think you can make it so uncomfortable here he might choose to leave on his own. If neither of you are feeding his sadistic needs, he might move on to find someone or somewhere else to get that.”
“Hurting others?” I asked and felt weepy again. “No, I want him gone. Like I said to him, it’s time he goes to hell where he belongs.”
Madam patted my hand but didn’t say anything else. I knew she didn’t have the key to ending this, but somehow, now that I’d stood up to him once and for all, I believed with Granny Ida’s help, we could find a way to banish him. I just had no idea how to make that happen.
Chapter twenty-seven
Rory
Iwas shocked into inaction. In an instant, chaos swirled around the room in the form of a black cloud. However, neither Mick nor Madam had seen that. Next, Mick was thrown physically across the room.
By the time I regained my senses, I couldn’t move, and Madam and I were forced to watch as the entity tried to strangle the life out of Mick. I saw it when his expression changed from fear to anger. I also felt a shift in the energy around me, and seconds later, I could move again and went to Mick just as he was about to lunge at the monster.
Madam and I reached him at the same time, holding him back as she assured him the entity was dissipating. Unfortunately, even I could tell he was only backing off because he was losing strength, not because he was actually leaving.
I held onto Mick long after the fear and adrenaline faded. There were no easy answers here; Preston Garrison would be back, and there was no way to know what level of maliciousness he’d bring when he returned.
As I held Mick, Madam toured the house, and when she came back, she talked about how to set the house up so Mrs. Ida could come home. “We can put the bed in the dining room here,” she said. “I recommend you put the table and chairs in storage if you can.”
She rambled on, and I knew it was more to get Mick’s mind off what happened as it was planning. Mick had stopped shivering, which I took as a sign that her rambling was helping.
“I’ll sleep down here with her during the night, but you’ll need to have a nurse sit with her during the day so I can get some rest.”
“I’ll stay with her,” Mick said. “I only work for Brenda on the weekends, so we’ll need a nurse then and when you need nights off.”
His voice was rough and monotone, but if he was planning for when his great-grandmother was home, I figured it was a good sign.
“That works. Maybe your cousins can sit with her some too. From my experience, the more people who help, the easier it is for everyone, including your Granny. She’s gonna get sick of having the same people around all the time.”
He nodded. “So I want to go home and get a proper shower, then I’m going to head over to speak with the doctor about having her released into our care. Not just because of the asshole spirit, but because that’s what she wants.” Madam agreed.
Madam Bellamy followed us to Mick’s apartment because neither of us wanted him to go alone. After giving him a long hug, I kissed him, and we left once he was in the shower.
“So,” I said when I was in the car alone with Madam, “have you ever dealt with something that strong?”
She shook her head. “Not me personally, but I watched my grandmother deal with a possession once, and my mother tookon a poltergeist in New Orleans. I was only a witness, though, never actively involved."
