Chapter 6
Mariah unlockedthe front door of Cass’s Victorian mansion and the chosen ones spilled inside. Electric candle sconces flickered on in the foyer as they entered. Lights that lit themselves were just one more horror to add to this thriller film Sam had falleninto.
Shaken by Daisy’s ridiculous proclamation that there was a murderer on the loose and she might die, Sam threw a longing look toward her guest cottage, but she would never sleepnow.
Walker had abandoned her to the Lucys, saying he had to guard the gravesite or one of the lunatics would be digging around, looking for more bones. She feared he was right. The people who hadn’t come withthe chosen thirteen had quickly departed for their cars and bicycles, and at least half of them had headed up the hill. She didn’t envy him hisjob.
Not that she envied her position either. Mariah patted her on the shoulder, then led the others past two enormous dark parlors into a dining room decorated in gold 70’s flocked wallpaper and hung with a crystal chandelier. Sam appreciated thatthe chandelier didn’t light automagically as they entered, but several sconces on the wall did. She’d watched this time but hadn’t seen anyone flip a switch. Motion detectors, perhaps? The room was too dim to watch everyone atonce.
No draperies adorned the floor-to-ceiling windows, but the fog pushing against the glass was curtain enough. Sam could make out a variety of paintings alongthe wall, but couldn’t discern their subjects. Oddly, some seemed to be frames with no art, and there were blank places where it looked as if pieces had once hung. But the shadows prevented closerinspection.
Mariah pressed Sam down in a chair at the head of a long table while the others flitted about, seeking positions between her and Tullah, who took the otherend.
Did feelingweird mean that this might be the weirdest moment of herlife?
“Join hands,” Tullah ordered in the same perfectly matter-of-fact voice she’d used when telling Sam to wear the sprigged skirt. “It’s late, and our guest is tired, so let’s keep this quick andfocused.”
The marmalade cat leaped to Sam’s lap, then climbed to the table. She curled up in the center. Mariah had said the cathad escape hatches. Good thing, if so, because Sam sure hadn’t been around much to look afterher.
Mariah held her right hand. Susan, a grandmotherly woman with a cheerful smile and a head full of curls, took Sam’sleft.
The lights went out. Since everyone was at the table, holding hands, there had to be a switch in the floor. Sam had a feeling this wasn’t the first time the ladieshad held a séancehere.
“Spirit of the vortex, speak,” Tullah commanded in a low, reassuring tone. “Tell us who youare.”
Sam felt ridiculous. She concentrated on the warmth of the two hands she held. That the hands of strangers held comfort worried her a little. Had she been a lonely student? Had she hadlovers?
“He is here,” Susan said suddenly. Her hand now felt cool andmoist. “He senses ourguest.”
Well now there was a great opening for a scam. Excite the newcomer, get her invested in the outcome, then start making demands. How did she know this? Or was that just scientificskepticism?
“Name yourself, spirit,” Tullah inserted into the followingsilence.
The cat stretched and walked down the table to one of the women to whom Sam hadn’t beenintroduced. Buxom, with graying auburn hair, she wore tangles of gold and garnet beads. Emma batted her head against the woman’schin.
“He’s not clear,” the beaded lady said in a low contralto. “He’s been gone toolong.”
A rustle of disappointment whispered around the room. Sam felt Susan’s palm grow clammier. Mariah squeezed her other hand as if toreassure.
“Evil,” Tullahsaid in a guttural tone unlike her own. “He speaks ofevil.”
“Tullah has a spirit guide,” Mariah whispered inexplanation.
“Evil must be cleansed,” the spirit guidesaid.
“How?” Mariahasked.
Startled by this sensible question to an insensible speech, Sam almost released her grip. Both Mariah and Susan tightened theirs. An almost visible ripple of excitement circledthetable.
“Fire and serpents,” the guttural voice responded sadly. “Fire cleanses.” A hesitation, followed by a sharper, less dolorous tone—“Tell his son tobeware.”
The sconces abruptly flickered back on, and the women dropped Sam’s hands. Susan surreptitiously wiped hers on her skirt, and Mariahfrowned.
“Well, that wasn’t helpful,” Valdis said in disdain. “We really needCass. She can translate even the most reluctantspirit.”
“That was more than enough for me.” Deciding a master of environmental science would be firm and decisive in the face of lunacy, Sam stood and scooped up Emma. “Even I know that fire up here would be more devastating thancleansing.”
“We’ll have to wait for police to learn the spirit’s identity before we can find and warn hisson,” Mariah said worriedly. “Tullah, are you allright?”
