There was no reply.
Heath knocked again, this time a little louder and more urgently. “Mother!”
Still no reply.
Heath’s hand went to the door handle and he tried the knob. It wouldn’t turn. “It’s locked,” he muttered, then knocked again and yelled, “Mom!” much louder this time.
But no one answered.
Beside me I heard Teeko suck in a breath and her hand flew to her mouth. “Oh, God!” she said. “What if it got to her?!”
Heath looked at Teeko, then eyed the door pointedly. She nodded and said, “Break it down!”
He backed up, raised his leg, and kicked at it violently. There was a splintering noise, but the door held. “Mom!” Heath yelled, this time at the top of his lungs, before he raised his leg again and thrust his heel forward with all his might.
The door smashed inward and all I heard was a scream before Heath flew past the shattered door. Karen was frozen in terror, and she was still gripping my arm so tightly I had to pry her hand off so that I could run into the room after Heath. A light flicked on and I blinked in the sudden glare. Heath had his mother already wrapped in his arms and she was quivering in fear beside her bed. “What’s happening?” she demanded when everyone poured into her room.
Behind me we all heard, “Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh-hhh!” and Gilley came streaming into the room so fast he was a blur. He leaped onto the bed again, grabbing Mrs. Lujan’s pillows and using them like a shield. “How could you leave me alone?” he shrieked, his voice hitting that awful howler monkey octave.
“Dude!” Heath commanded. “Pipe down!”
“Heath!” his mother said, trying to pull out of the smothering hold he had her in. “What’s going on and what have you done to my door?”
“You wouldn’t answer,” he told her. “I had to kick it in.”
“Did you try knocking?” she scolded.
I could feel Teeko’s eyes turn to me. “We did knock, Mrs. Lujan!” I said quickly. “Several times.”
Mrs. Lujan’s hand moved to her head, as if to smooth out her hair. “Well, I didn’t hear you,” she said, looking back at the door, then to the clock on the nightstand. “It’s three in the morning!” she exclaimed. “Why on earth did you need to knock on my door at three in the morning?!”
Beside her Gilley whimpered.
“And what’s the matter with Gilley?” she asked. Then she squinted at each of us carefully. “What’s the matter with all of you?”
“Something’s out there,” Teeko whispered.
Serena blinked. “What?”
I shook my head. “We have no idea. But whatever it is, it’s big and it hit the side of the house so hard the walls shook.”
Mrs. Lujan’s eyes widened and she looked at her son as if to ask if that was really true. “I’ve never heard anything like it, Ma,” he said. “It sounded like a dragon was outside our bedroom window.”
“Oh, my,” said Mrs. Lujan, her brow now creased with worry. “Should we go outside and have a look?”
“No!” we all said at the same time. Gilley squirmed back on the bed and held tightly to the pillows.
“Maybe we should look out from the living room,” Mrs. Lujan suggested next. “There are wall-to-wall windows in there and we might see what’s banging around outside.”
I gulped. “I’m not sure I want to see it,” I told her honestly. As a ghost hunter, I’m not easily scared, but something big, bad, and terrible had just paid us a visit, and I was in no hurry to get an up-close and personal introduction.
Heath, however, seemed to take stock of all the scared female energy in the room—including Gilley’s—and he must have decided to be the brave soldier among us, because he said, “I’ll go. You guys stay here.”
I shook my head. “Don’t.”
He came over to me and gave me a quick peck. “I’m just gonna take a peek,” he promised. “Whatever’s out there is probably gone by now anyway.”
He moved toward the door, pushing a piece of wood that had come loose from the door out of the way, and I knew I couldn’t let him go alone.
“Wait,” I called when he’d gotten as far as the hallway. “I’m coming with you.”
“M. J.!” Teeko whispered. “Don’t go!”
“I’ll be okay,” I promised, moving after Heath and adding with far more confidence than I felt, “We’ll be right back.”
I edged out into the hallway, hurrying to catch up to Heath, who paused only long enough to let me get to his side. Neither of us reached for the light switches in the hallway, finding our way by the light coming from the half-moon outside.
When we made it to the end of the hallway, Heath took my hand firmly in his. I tried to stop shaking, but that familiar eerie feeling creeping along my back had returned. Something wicked was out and about and neither of us wanted to risk having it spot us.
Heath motioned with his head to the left side of the wall, just in front of the living room. I moved silently with him and we each ducked down a little and edged our heads around the corner.
Outside we could see the trees whipping about. I realized I could also hear the wind howling with short but powerful gusts.
Heath and I listened intently. I couldn’t hear the growl from before and was grateful for that at least. Heath squinted at the back deck; I could swear something caught his attention. Wordlessly he pointed to the far right corner of the deck, and as I peered into the dimness, I saw what he was pointing at. The wicker patio furniture had been torn and ripped and sliced into a mess of foam, shredded cloth, and splintered wood.
“What the hell happened to the deck furniture?” I whispered.
Heath was shaking his head. He didn’t know either. He then lifted my chin and said very softly, “I’m going to go to the windows and get a closer look. You stay here.”
My eyes flew back to the wall of windows. They seemed so fragile suddenly, especially given the condition of the patio furniture. “I’m coming with you,” I whispered.
“No!” he insisted. “Stay here.” Before I knew it, he’d let go of my chin, dropped low, and begun darting across the living room.
There was no way I was letting him venture out there alone. Ignoring his command, I scuttled along the floor after him, and when I came up next to him, he frowned but didn’t protest further. We got to the couch and crouched down behind it; then slowly we both eased our heads up over the top and looked through the glass.
The first thing I saw was movement at the edge of the lawn, just before the tree line.
Something big . . . and I do mean BIG . . . was pushing its way across the lawn. The movement was subtle for something so huge, and if I had to describe it, I would say that whatever it was didn’t so much walk as . . . slither.
I heard Heath take in a breath at the same time I did. He’d seen it too. And I had the most terrible feeling that whatever that thing was, it was backing up to look at the house and figure out the best angle to come crashing through the windows.
At that moment we both heard sirens. The huge monster out on the lawn stopped moving, as if it was listening too. The sirens drew closer and I prayed that by some miracle they were coming here.
My prayers were answered as the seconds ticked by and the sirens got closer and closer until finally the red and blue glow of strobe lights bounced off the hallway leading to the front door.
I looked one last time out at the lawn, and caught the monster disappearing into the trees. Then, there was a series of hard knocks on the door and Heath and I raced to answer it.
Karen came down the hallway clutching her cell phone and we met at the door together. “I called the police,” she admitted.
“Thank God you did!” I said, opening the door for the officers.
There were two patrolmen there, and I couldn’t help but think how ill equipped they were to handle whatever that thing had been out on the lawn. “We got a report of a possible break-in?” one of them said.
Teeko pointed to the b
ack of the house. “There’s something out there!” she said, still shivering in fear.
“Something?” the officer repeated.
Teeks nodded.
The two men exchanged a look and asked to come inside. We stepped back and Heath led them to the back of the house, flipping on the outside lights and unlocking the back door.
I followed the officers out onto the deck, Heath sticking close to my side, and we watched the beam from their flashlights as they trained it on the long trail of three talon marks that started at one end of the house and went all the way along to the other.
One of the officers whistled. The other looked around nervously. “Did you catch sight of this . . . er . . . this intruder?” asked the nervous one.
Heath and I exchanged a look. What were we going to tell them? “Not really,” I said. “But whatever did this was big.”
The nervous officer looked to his partner. “We got any reports of bears in the area? Specifically, a three-toed bear?”
“Nope,” said his partner, moving over to the ruined patio furniture. “We’ll put in a report tonight and alert the rangers that they may want to come out and take a look,” he said.
I could have told him not to bother, but the men were already moving back inside.
Fifteen minutes later they’d gotten all of our information, assured us that the “bear” was probably gone for the night, and left.
The minute they got in their car, Teeks turned on every single indoor and outdoor light she could find. “Do you think they’re right?” she asked me, eyeing the patio furniture nervously. “Do you really think it was only a bear?”
Before either of us could answer her, someone right behind us asked, “What did you see?” We both jumped and let out a small yelp.
“It’s only me!” said Mrs. Lujan.
“Ma!” Heath chided, then lowered his voice to a whisper. “Don’t do that!”
She sat on the couch and took in the damage outside. “Tell me what you saw,” she insisted.
“Something big,” I said.
“Very big,” said Heath.
“Very, very big,” I added.
“Yes, yes,” she said impatiently. “I get it. The thing was enormous. What did it look like?”
I opened my mouth, but words failed me at first. Heath stared at me blankly—he didn’t know how to describe it either. “It looked . . . ,” I began, “. . . like a dragon.”
Heath nodded. “Yeah,” he said. “Like an evil dragon.”
Mrs. Lujan’s face paled. “It looked like a dragon?” she repeated.
I nodded. “It was like a demon dragon. Absolutely hands down the scariest thing I’ve ever seen!” And that was saying a lot coming from me.
“How tall?” Mrs. Lujan asked, and there was an urgent note to her voice.
Heath and I looked at each other. “Eight or nine feet tall. It’s hard to tell until the sun comes up and we can see how far away the trees are.”
“What color was it?” Mrs. Lujan asked next.
“Black,” I told her. “But it sort of shimmered too. There was this glimmer from the moonlight off its body.” And then I realized what I was saying—that I’d just seen a giant dragon move into the trees—and I wanted to laugh.
But then I remembered the patio furniture and all the humor left me. Mrs. Lujan stood up and offered her hand to Teeko. I noticed that her lips were pressed hard together and she seemed to avoid our eyes. “You three should go back to bed,” she said.
I was stunned by her suggestion. Heath must have felt the same way. “You’re kidding,” he told his mother. “You want us to go back to bed after seeing that?”
“Yes,” she said bluntly. “We can’t do anything about it now, and we’ll have a lot to talk about in the morning.”
“But what if it comes back?” I argued.
“It won’t,” she said as if she were certain. “It’s gone for tonight.”
Heath shook his head. “How can you know that, Mom?”
“Because I know more than you,” she said, wrapping her arm around Teeks and moving with her down the hall to the bedrooms. “Get some sleep or just rest if you can’t. We’ll talk more in the morning.” With that, Mrs. Lujan let go of Teeks, went into her bedroom, and ordered both her and Gilley to go back to bed too.
Gilley came out into the hallway clutching his pillow; then he latched on to Teeko like a joey koala bear. He and Karen looked at us as if they couldn’t believe what Mrs. Lujan had just said. “Ma might be right,” Heath said. “Whatever that thing was, it’s probably moved on for the night.”
My heart rate was starting to come down and I could feel the exhaustion seep back into my frame. I didn’t know why, but I thought I agreed with Mrs. Lujan and Heath—whatever that demon was, it probably wouldn’t come back again tonight. “We might as well turn in and at least try to get some sleep,” I told them.
Gilley and Teeko looked at each other. “Can I sleep with you?” Gilley asked. That made me smile. Gilley. Asking to sleep with a girl. That was a first.
“Sure,” she said, a bit of relief in her voice.
When those two had gone back to bed, Heath and I checked on Doc, who seemed fine and drowsy himself, and then we turned in. Well, I turned in. Heath stood by the window looking out for a long time after I managed to nod off.
The next morning I fought to stay asleep for as long as I could, but eventually the rich smell of waffles pulled me out of my slumber. With a tired sigh I opened one eye and gave in to the urge to inhale deeply.
“That smells like heaven,” I mumbled.
Heath rolled over and wound his arms around me. “Ma’s cooking breakfast,” he said. “And I can tell you from experience, she cooks a mean breakfast.”
I yawned. “Did you get any sleep after we came back here?”
“A little.”
I felt something nudge my backside. “Well, good morning!” I said with a smile.
Heath chuckled. “Care to work up an appetite?”
I rolled my eyes. “With your mother here? Oh, I think not, honey.”
“I can be quiet,” he said, nibbling on my neck and nudging me again.
“No,” I told him firmly, and got out of bed. There was no way I was risking her hearing that.
We made it out to the kitchen to find Mrs. Lujan busy cooking up a storm. We also found Teeko standing with a mug of steaming coffee, staring blankly at what was left of the patio furniture. I moved over to her and in the daylight could hardly believe the sight.
The patio furniture was hardly recognizable as anything but kindling. “It’s pretty bad, isn’t it?” I said when I sidled up next to her. She offered me her mug and I took a sip, relishing the delicious taste.
“I’m heading back to Boston this morning,” Teeks said softly, never taking her eyes off the furniture.
“Okay,” I said, my heart heavy because I missed her so much and had thought we might get a chance to hang out together like the old days.
Turning to me, she suddenly said, “Come back with me, M. J.!”
That surprised me. “Teeks,” I said, “I can’t leave Heath right now. Both his aunt and uncle have died.” I didn’t say what else I was thinking, that whatever demon had visited us last night—and I was now convinced it was a demon—would also need to be dealt with. But Teeks didn’t need to know that, because all she’d do was worry. It was best to keep her in the dark.
She eyed me soberly and glanced quickly at the kitchen to make sure that Heath and his mother were out of earshot. “According to Gilley,” she said very quietly, “Heath’s uncle died under very mysterious circumstances. He said that Mr. Whitefeather was attacked by something that ripped him to pieces.” Teeks then turned her head and looked pointedly back outside at the ruins of the patio furniture. So much for keeping her in the dark.
“Listen,” I said gently, handing her back her mug of coffee. “Under normal circumstances I’d head back with you in a heartbeat. But Heath needs me and, in par
ticular, my ghostbusting talents. I’m not going to leave him to deal with this alone.”
“But I thought you two just started dating?” she said, her voice rising like a question.
“Yeah,” I told her, “we haven’t been together that long. But if the tables were turned, I know he wouldn’t run off and leave me at the first sign of trouble.”
“You really like this guy?” she asked.
I didn’t answer her right away. Instead I took some time to think of Heath and all he was beginning to mean to me. “Yeah, Teeks. I really like this guy.”
My friend bit her lip, and I could tell she was thinking about saying something else to me, but was hesitant.
“What?” I asked her.
“If I knew something about Steven, would you want to hear it?”
My brow rose. That wasn’t what I thought she was going to say. Steven was my ex-boyfriend. We’d split about a month ago, after several weeks of being separated and finding that distance did not make our hearts grow fonder. “If you knew something about Steven, like what?”
“Something that might or might not upset you?”
I knew right away what she must be talking about. “Is he seeing someone?”
Teeks nodded. “I bumped into him,” she said. “He was in Cambridge at this restaurant that John likes and he had a girl with him. She wasn’t nearly as pretty as you.”
I gave her a sly smile. Good girlfriends were supposed to say stuff like that.
“Ah,” I said, trying to get a handle on how I felt about the news that Steven had moved on. “Well . . . he’s free to go out with whomever he likes. We’re not seeing each other anymore.” And then, I realized that I really meant what I’d just said. I still thought fondly of Steven—I always would—but Heath understood me in ways that Steven never could. Heath and I got along really well together, both on-screen and off, and above all, I trusted him. Trust is hard for me, and I wasn’t sure that I’d ever really trusted Steven. Maybe it was the fact that he was a doctor and women were constantly throwing themselves at him. Maybe it was the differences in our cultures—he was from Argentina. Maybe it was just that we wanted different things in life. Deep down I knew Steven wanted a stay-at-home wife and tons of kids, and that was something that was never going to be a part of my future.