Jared’s eyes darkened. “Two people almost died there within a week. One fell down the stairs and the other from a second-story window. Both said they were pushed, but they were alone in the house when it happened.”
“The name of this place is written on the same page as the diagram of the Shift,” Alara said. “What are the odds?”
It was one question we could all answer.
The White Stripes blared from the speakers behind Priest’s worktable. This time it was “Seven Nation Army,” and Priest looked like he was outfitting an army of his own. I checked off supplies from his list. I quizzed Priest and Alara about each piece of equipment.
Priest tossed Alara a box of nails and filled in the blanks for me. “It’s like packing for a trip when you don’t know what the weather will be like.”
I only recognized about half of the items Alara stuffed in the bag, and I had no idea what they planned to do with any of it. But I was determined to find out.
I held up the nails. “I’m guessing these are for severe thunderstorms?”
Priest grinned. “Or unexpected rain, depending on the vengeance spirit.” He handed Alara a high-tech crossbow with orange duct tape wrapped around the barrel.
“You can shoot spirits with that?”
Alara scowled. Spotting Andras’ seal on the diagram had only earned me a temporary reprieve. I sensed her sizing me up every time she looked at me, trying to determine what my ignorance would cost them.
“Almost any type of weapon works as long as you have the right ammo. Regular bullets won’t hurt spirits. They just piss them off,” Priest said.
“Your grandfather taught you how to make all this stuff?”
“Yeah. He could build a weapon out of a soda can.” Priest examined a leather glove with spikes protruding from the knuckles. “I need to do a quick fix. Alara, put this on for a minute.”
She nodded at the soldering iron. “Don’t burn me.”
I scanned the list while Priest lit the blue flame on the soldering iron: nail gun, crossbow, shotgun, strike gloves, nails, bolts, shells, salt, EMF detectors, batteries, flashlights, torch, headphones. I smiled at the last one and watched Priest work. I flipped over the list, and the pencil in my hand started to move, following the curves of his face, the shape of the hood flipped over his head. But his trademark headphones morphed into part of his body like a crazy steampunk helmet.
It felt good to be sketching, like I was suddenly myself again.
Priest finished and looked over. “What are you drawing?”
“You.” I penciled in some quick lines to round out the sketch.
He pushed the goggles up on his forehead and walked around behind me. “Wow. That’s amazing.”
Alara craned her neck to get a better look and did a double take. “He’s right.”
“Lots of people are better.” I handed him the sketch and tucked the pencil behind my ear.
“Well, I don’t know any.” Priest ripped off the sheet and slid it into his pocket. “I’m saving this in case you’re famous one day.”
If someone had said that to me a week ago, I would’ve holed up in my room and sketched for the rest of the day. Instead, I was hiding in a warehouse, packing ammo, just hoping to make it through another one.
13. COLD IRON
You’re about to walk into a real haunted house.
With its weathered gray brick and medieval tower, Lilburn Mansion looked more like an abandoned castle from a European guidebook than the scene of paranormal attacks. Whether the spirits inside the house were under the influence of a demon or not, two people had almost died here. I wasn’t studying maps and sorting weapons anymore.
I scanned the second-story windows, wondering which one the person fell from.
“You okay?” Lukas walked up beside me.
“I’m good.” If I pretended it was true, maybe I would believe it.
“I was six the first time I saw a ghost.” Lukas stared at the house, but I sensed him watching me. “I woke up one night, and a little girl was sitting by the window playing cat’s cradle. When the moonlight hit her body, it passed right through her.”
I pictured the girl with the handprints around her throat. “Were you scared?”
“I thought it was a dream until I saw her again. She was sitting in the same spot playing cat’s cradle. After what felt like forever, she held up her hands with a blue string webbed between them, and she spoke to me.”
“What did she say?”
“ ‘You have to lace your fingers just right to catch your dreams. And you don’t want to lose them because they’re not easy to find again.’ Then she faded away like she was never there. When I woke up the next morning, the blue string was sitting on the windowsill, looped in a perfect cat’s cradle.”
I gasped. “I would’ve lost it.”
“That’s the weirdest part. I didn’t. She was just a lonely spirit caught between worlds. I wanted you to know they aren’t all bad.” Lukas pulled something out of his pocket. When he uncurled his fingers, it was tangled in his palm.
A web of blue string.
“And I want you to know something else.”
I couldn’t take my eyes off the tangled loops.
“I’m just like you, Kennedy. There are things I want. Things that have nothing to do with destroying demons and vengeance spirits.” Lukas put the string in my hand and closed my fingers around it. “So you can catch your dreams.”