“Uh. . . .” Aaron said, his gaze still firmly fixed on the area beyond the Ghost Grid. “Ah, yeah. Just a sec, kids.”
He pulled his walkie from his belt and sent out a notice that we needed everybody.
The first people I saw were Wren and Findley, followed by Burke and Reagan. They just popped into existence near me.
“We felt your distress. Sorry we couldn’t get here sooner; we were helping Dev in the yard,” Wren said.
“It’s okay,” I assured her, and Kholt looked down at me.
“Did you say something?” he asked.
I forgot that he couldn’t see them. “Wren, Findley, and most of the ghost crew are here. I was just talking to Wren.”
He simply nodded and rubbed circles on my back, still not letting me turn to take in the gathering of spirits.
Dev and Hanlen came jogging in next, followed by the rest of the cast. They all stopped short when they saw the group of dearly departed behind me.
“Are you okay?” Dev said, coming over to me, his handsome features screwed into a mask of concern. He put his hand on my arm, and I soaked in some strength from his magic.
“Yeah, I’m all right. It just . . .theytook me by surprise.”
He stepped back, his eyebrows drawing together, his hands still on my biceps. He looked over my head and then back at me. “I mean, I know that’s probably the largest gathering we’ve ever had in one place at one time, but I feel like I’m missing something here.”
I just nodded, feeling Kholt still behind me, the warmth of his body helping to dispel a bit of the chill I felt. I took a breath, swallowed hard, and wrapped my arms around my middle as I turned to take in our audience, faces I remembered well—some even fondly—looking on. I felt a sense of loss I couldn’t reconcile. No, I hadn’t been super close with these folks, but Ihadknown them. And my intuition told me that Lionel was at the heart of why I was talking to them now from beyond the veil.
“So I think I know who owns the shell company that bought this house,” I said, turning a little to look at Hanlen and Burke. A shiver raced down my spine, and Kholt set his hands on my shoulders, moving even closer to me.
“Every person in that doorway and walkway behind me was part of Balance of Light. I knew all of them. At first, during the initial shock of seeing them, I couldn’t figure out why they would behere. But then I remembered what you guys dug up.” I looked at Hanlen. “I think Lionel, or at least someone from the cult, lived in these houses at some point in the last nineteen years.” I looked at Dev then. “And I think our assumption that the fire likely wasn’t an accident has just been confirmed.”
I turned to take in the group of spirits again. “Sweet goddess,” I said, my voice cracking. “I am so, so sorry this happened to you.”
Most of the ghosts issued me small, sad smiles, but nobody said anything. It was almost like they were waiting for me to continue. And I figured I should.
I turned back to my friends. “I didn’t tell you guys all my horrors from my days with Lionel’s people . . . only what was directly done to me.” I looked over my shoulder at Kholt. He leaned down to kiss my cheek but didn’t say anything. “One day, I was in my room reading and heard a commotion. I ran out to see what was going on and saw people running to one of the barn-like buildings we had out back. When I got outside, all I saw was smoke and flames.”
I took a deep breath to gather my courage, preparing to relive the nightmare, Thoughts of what I’d seen that day and others cut me like razor blades, filleting open my trauma wounds. I shook my head and forced myself to look at everyone again. Dev reached out and took my hand, giving my fingers a squeeze. I felt a bit of his magic slip into me, imbuing me with a sliver of strength.
“They held classes in that barn,” I continued. “And from what I remembered from the schedule, the older kids had classes that day. Something they called Meditation and Mediation. Meaning those with gifts were being schooled on how to control them . . .”—a tear slipped down my cheek despite my fight to keep them back—“and encouraged to hand them over to theirprophet.” The word came out like a snarl, and I felt bile rise.
“I knew a lot of those kids. They weren’t much younger than me. And I also knew that several of their parents weren’t entirely on board with what Lionel insisted.” I shook my head.
“Oh, gods, I think I know where you’re going with this,” Dakota said and tugged at her short hair.
“Lionel came running out of the back. Everyone assumed he had been making sure no one was inside, but something didn’t sit well with me. When the first screams of anguish reached me, I knew that my fears were founded.” I looked at the ceiling and shook my head, willing away the tears that wanted to fall. “I couldn’t tear my gaze away, waiting to see if any spirits would reach out in my mind, but none did. However, when I opened my third eye and glanced at Lionel, I saw that his aura was off. It was full of darkness, and he had a magical signature around him that I had never seen before. It almost gleamed, like a shiny new penny.”
I felt sick even now reliving the memory, the horror of what I’d seen that day sliding over me like a slime I couldn’t shake.
“When I looked around and saw that both Damien and Trent were near Lionel, I knew—even more than I already did—that something wasn’t right. One or both of them should have been in there with the kids.”
“What happened then?” Sky asked, and I heard the fire in her voice. She was good and pissed.
“They gave us a story about how the fire had started and how they’d tried to get the kids out, but I knew it was all bullshit. And then Clary came to me. I got an image in my mind of her. She sent me horrific images of her last moments. And then I knew. Lionel had done something that allowed him to take their gifts, and then he murdered those poor children.”
“Dear Lord,” Pax gasped as he pulled Sky close.
“The same thing happened here,” came a soft voice from behind me. I turned to take in the gathered group of spirits. It was Melissa who’d spoken. I took her in, seeing the long, wavy blond hair I remembered and the dark brown eyes, feeling a wave of anguish pass through me.
“Was it Lionel?” I asked.