As Linda and Randall slowly circled them, Ellie’s mind worked furiously. She was trying to process all the pieces that Emma had given her, knowing somewhere in those fragments was the answer to the puzzle.
She saw that Linda and Randall looked younger, much younger. David was trying to push her behind him, but the two spaced themselves far enough apart that there was always one of them right in front, ready to catch them if they made a move for the door. The room darkened, and then small drops of light appeared around the perimeter of the room. Something far darker had joined them.
“Ellie.” Linda’s tone was disapproving. “You speak so ill of our wonderful home. It takes care of us and gives us everything we could ever want or need. Youth. Riches. What it asks for is so small in comparison.”
“I don’t understand any of this,” David said, still moving to try to protect Ellie. “What are you? What do you want from us?”
“I told you earlier, David,” Linda said, “every living thing needs nourishment. What exists here has been here so much longer than us. We were lucky that it saw our potential, otherwise, yes, it would likely have used us up too. There are many ways to feed it, but nothing gives it more strength than love. Isn’t that the most beautiful thing?”
“Nothing nourishes like the power of love,” Randall agreed. “What you feel here around you is powerful beyond your imagination. When you are chosen, you become a God.”
“You’re no gods,” Ellie said. “You are nothing but sick people.”
“Ellie,” Linda admonished in that motherly tone that Ellie hated. “You of all people I would think could appreciate what this house is all about.”
“What do you mean?” Ellie asked.
“Let’s just say, our home has a special appetite for people who themselves are special,” Linda said with a knowing grin.
Ellie realized that Linda had known about her all along. She had been targeted. Linda and Randall had been playing her like a puppet, maneuvering her into this time and this place.
“How?” she asked.
Linda clucked her tongue. “I’m surprised at you, Ellie. For such a smart girl, you are pretty slow sometimes.”
Ellie realized the link that she had been missing. “It was Jake, wasn’t it?” For just a moment she was transported back to the basement of their house, just days before she had left Jake for good. Jake had put black paper over all of the windows and the area was dank and dark. It stank with some kind of herbs that he had been burning, and in the back, Ellie had found that Jake had converted his old workbench into something resembling an altar. It had dead flowers and candles strewn over the surface. And in the middle there was a picture of Ellie.
Linda nodded. “Of course it was Jake. I almost feel bad for the poor boy. In his pathetic little attempts to understand his own condition, he awakened something else that scared the dickens out of him.”
“You came after me because of Jake,” Ellie said, still trying to wrap her mind around the idea. “Why me and not him? I mean, he was the one that did all of it. He was ‘special’ too.”
Linda and Randall laughed. “Jake wasn’t exactly what we were looking for,” Randall said. “Although we should thank him again for sending us that special treat.” Randall licked his lips.
Ellie didn’t know what Randall was talking about, and then David answered, “Jenny and her baby.”
Linda’s face lit up. “A mother and child’s love is truly sweet and pure. It is second only to that one other love.”
“What is that?” Ellie asked.
“Silly Ellie.” Linda shook her head. “Have I taught you nothing in the last few months?”
They stopped circling now. Ellie stood facing Linda, and David faced Randall. Their backs touched, and Ellie grabbed behind her for David’s hand. The touch of his skin was reassuring.
The answer burst into Ellie’s mind. “True love,” she whispered.
Her emotions threatened to overwhelm her, and she turned to find David had turned as well and was gazing down into her eyes. She saw the truth that she had suspected there.
“True love,” Linda said behind her. “So rare a gift that it can keep our benefactor strong for decades.”
Linda’s words connected more dots for Ellie. “You stole it. You stole it from Emma and Henry.”
“We stole nothing,” Linda scoffed. “I once had plans for Emma too. But she went off and died before I could convince her to join us. Henry was devastated. It was unfortunate.” Linda chuckled. “But I did my best to comfort him in his last moments.”
The candles flickered for a moment, and Ellie saw Randall’s eyes narrow over David’s shoulder. “I thought you said you had her under control,” he said to Linda.
“Get these two ready,” Linda hissed at him. “I’ll deal with her.”
Linda vanished, leaving Ellie and David with Randall.
“I am not going to get used to that,” David murmured as he pulled her close to him.
Randall stared at the wall so long that Ellie thought he might have forgotten they were there. Then his face changed and Ellie screamed.
“This should be nearly painless,” he said as his jaws widened. His arms seemed to elongate to encircle them. The last thing Ellie saw was his red eyes as she and David sank to the floor in each other’s arms. The edges of reality went blurry again.