Mr. Conjure, page 10
Mary took the anchor to the shed and opened the door.
“Wait. It’s really dark in there.”
It was dark in the shed. There wasn’t a window so when Mary closed the door, it would be completely dark. “No, I don’t like the dark. Stop.”
“You either stay in here while we’re gone or you come with us.”
“But I don’t want to go back there!”
“We’re going to kill the monster.”
The ghost made a derisive sound. “You can’t kill what was never alive.”
“We’ve done it before.”
“Then what do you need me for?”
“Nothing I guess.” Mary set the stocking cap on a shelf and turned to leave.
“Wait! I promise I’ll be good. Don’t leave me in here.”
The ghost’s desperate pleas were making Mary uncomfortable, but she wasn’t about to leave her in the house by herself. She might set the place on fire with her wild antics.
“You either stay here or come with us.”
The ghost didn’t immediately respond.
“You don’t have to go inside,” she offered.
“I don’t want to see that place ever again.”
“Once we kill the Shadowman, you won’t have to.”
Mary really wanted the ghost to come with them. She was sure she could offer advice and help. “We can stop and pick up a pack of Mentos on the way back.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, sure.”
“Okay.”
“Also apologize to Harvey.”
“He’s such a stick in the mud.”
“Yes, but he’s technically in charge.”
Ghost Mary let out a long sigh. “Fine.”
Mary picked up the hat and went back inside. The others had gone in. Rachel had already retrieved the few flashlights they had and was testing their batteries.
“Harvey, I’m sorry for causing you trouble. I promise to behave from now on.”
“That’s all I want. So what are we doing exactly?”
“We’re going Shadowman hunting. How much light do we have?”
“I brought my camp lantern and a few big flashlights,” Kyle said.
“I brought some flashlights, flares, sparklers, and glow sticks,” Taryn said.
“Whoa, you had all that?” Rachel asked.
“I stopped by a party store.”
“They sell flares at the party store?”
“No, but they do at the auto parts place next to it.”
“That’s great, Taryn. I’ll grab the athame, and we’ll be good to go,” Mary said.
“Are you sure you should be doing this? Helena would not like it.”
“If I don’t go, Gran will. Do you want that instead?” Mary asked.
“Let’s load up.”
Harvey’s quick reply confirmed that he still had a bit of a thing for Gran. Mary didn’t like exploiting his little crush on her, but it was for the greater good. It was much better if Mary faced the Shadowman than Gran.
Gran kept the athame locked up in her office, but Mary knew where the key was hidden. She got the athame and everyone left to go to the abandoned house.
Mary and the anchors rode with Kyle while Taryn, Rachel, and Eddie rode in Rachel’s car, leaving Taryn’s car at Mary’s house.
“Mary, you got to promise me that you’ll run if things get bad,” Kyle said.
“Yeah, definitely.”
“I mean it. I don’t care if Rachel or anyone else is in trouble, if the Shadowman is about to get you, you book it out of there.”
“It’s just as dangerous to the rest of you.”
“Can it possess one of us?”
“I don’t think so,” Mary said, but she wasn’t sure. Gran had said Mr. White’s Shadowman had possessed her because there was a crack in her aura. It had to do with her abilities. By letting herself hear ghosts, she made herself vulnerable to it. But she had to keep her abilities on now. She had to be able to hear Harvey and Ghost Mary.
“Mary, promise me.”
“I already did.”
“He knows you too well,” Harvey said.
“Can you say it, please?”
Mary didn’t like Kyle’s insistence on this. He knew she took her word very seriously. “I promise to run if the Shadowman is about to get me.”
“And give me the athame.”
“What? No!”
“Oh, oh.”
“You don’t have to be the one to stab it.”
“I don’t have to be, but I’m the best one for the job. Harvey’s help is going to be invaluable, and I’m the only one who can talk to him.”
“He can hear me just fine. I don’t have to hear him.”
“No, you really do.”
“No, he doesn’t.”
Mary wasn’t about to acknowledge what Harvey had just said.
The horn of the truck gave two quick toots.
Kyle jerked the wheel a little in surprise.
“Don’t do that!” Mary said.
“Two for yes and one for no, right?” Ghost Mary said.
“What was that about?” Kyle asked.
“Nothing.”
“Was Harvey trying to talk to me?”
Mary didn’t reply. She wasn’t about to correct him and say it was Ghost Mary.
The truck horn gave two toots again.
“Stop that,” Mary said.
But Kyle had figured it out. “See, not all of it has to be on you. You don’t have to put yourself in danger every time. Let me take some of the heat.”
“Let’s just see what happens. If the Shadowman isn’t there, all this was for nothing, anyway.”
“It’s there. I know it,” Ghost Mary said.
“How do you know?” Mary asked.
“It’s day time. It always comes back during the day to sleep in the cellar.”
“Wait, there’s a cellar?”
Mary didn’t see any basement entrance inside the house.
“A storm cellar. The entrance is outside. It’s locked, but the lock is rusted now. It’ll probably be easy to break.”
“What’s in the storm cellar?”
“Other than the demon? The boiler I assume. I never went down there.”
Mary didn’t like going in blind.
Even though it was a sunny day, the street was quiet and empty still. If anyone was in the nearby houses, they were staying indoors. That was good for the group of teens. They gathered in front of the abandoned house. All held at least one source of light. Eddie had a head lamp on as well as a big flash light. A glow stick also hung from a string around his neck. Kyle had his gas camp lantern. Mary had Harvey’s anchor and an LED flashlight. True to her word, she’d left the knit cap in Kyle’s truck.
“Ghost Mary told me that this place has a storm cellar. The entrance is around back. It’s going to be pitch black in there so be careful.”
Kyle held out his hand to her. Mary pretended not to see it and turned to walk to the back.
“Mary, give me the knife.”
“Kyle, I promise to run. But that’s all you’re getting.”
“I should get the athame,” Rachel said.
“I’m keeping the athame,” Mary said.
“You got the spatula. Let one of us have the knife,” Rachel said.
“Because I got the spatula, I should keep the knife,” she countered.
“Should someone else hold the spatula?” Eddie asked.
Mary turned to face the group. “Listen, we’ve got to work together. If the Shadowman is down there, we gotta be ready to corral it and hold it in place so I can stab it. Harvey will help hold him, but we got to go in as a team. We can’t be bickering over who does what.”
“We aren’t bickering. We’re trying to split things up more evenly. If you have Harvey and the athame that makes you a bigger target. Let one of us carry it so that if something happens, you and Harvey have a chance to stop it.”
Mary wasn’t about to hand over the athame. It was their only weapon against the Shadowman, and she refused to be defenseless when facing one of these things ever again.
She turned and headed around the house.
“Mary, what are you doing? Wait,” Kyle called.
She wasn’t giving up the athame. She dashed to the cellar doors. There was a lock, but it had already been busted. Someone had come down here before, probably looking for stuff to scavenge. They must have gotten a nasty surprise.
She jerked open the double doors and clambered down the steps.
“Goddamnit, Mary,” Rachel said coming down the steps behind her. Mary turned on her flashlight and shined it around the room. Rachel did the same with hers. The others quickly came down the stairs.
Mary risked a look at Kyle and saw he was upset. When they left, it was going to be a tense ride back to her house.
“Does anyone see it?” Eddie asked.
Five beams of light shot around the room. The cellar had a dirt floor. It ran the length of the house with support columns dotting it. There was an old boiler on a cement slab in the far corner. Mary shined her flashlight on it to see if the Shadowman was hiding behind it, but her beam was too weak to reach it fully.
“Harvey, can you tell if it’s down here?”
“Um…”
“What does ‘um’ mean?”
“It means I’m not sure. What’s a Shadowman again?”
Mary rolled her eyes in frustration. “It’s a thing that looks like a shadow with red eyes. It doesn’t like ghosts.”
“Yeah, that’s the part I want clarification on. When you say doesn’t like ghosts, what does it do?”
“It’ll try to avoid you. It can’t hurt you.”
“Are you sure?”
Mary wasn’t one hundred percent sure, but she lied, “Yes, one ran from a small ghost dog. You’ll be fine.”
“I miss Chowder,” Rachel said.
“And what happened to Chowder?” Harvey asked.
“His anchor was destroyed by a very bad man. Will you stop stalling and check the back of the cellar?”
“Fine. Just don’t let any bad men get my spatula.”
Mary walked further into the room. She shined her light all around, but no shadows dashed from the flashlight beam.
“What if it’s not down here?” Taryn asked.
“Then we leave and come back tomorrow.”
“What if it’s never down here?”
Mary didn’t have an answer.
“Rachel?” Taryn asked.
Rachel walked past Mary. Mary didn’t like going further in, but Rachel kept going with only a flashlight to protect herself. Mary moved to stay close to her.
“Harvey, have you found it?”
“Gah!”
“Harvey!”
“In the back corner to the left!”
Mary turned her flashlight in that direction. The beam still couldn’t reach that far. Rachel picked up on what was happening and moved in that direction, shining her flashlight all around.
“Can you hold it?” Mary asked.
“Sort of. But I don’t know for how long.”
“Rach, fall back. Harvey’s not sure if he can hold it.”
“I see it. Give me the athame.”
Mary looked harder into the darkness, but she couldn’t pick out the Shadowman. But she could sense the struggle between Harvey and it.
“No, I’ll do it.”
Rachel turned and blinded Mary with her flashlight. “Give me the dagger!”
Mary had to shield her face with the hand holding the dagger.
Rachel rushed her and grabbed her wrist.
“Rach, stop!”
With the flashlight in her other hand, Mary couldn’t keep Rachel from grabbing her wrist. She dropped the flashlight to grapple with Rachel over the dagger.
“Girls, stop it!” Kyle yelled.
“Who you calling a girl?” Rachel grunted as she shoved Mary back. She’d managed to pry the dagger from her hand.
“This thing is wiggling something fierce! Stop horsing around and get it!”
Mary tried to grab Rachel to get the dagger back, but she easily dodged her. Mary realized that she was in the dark without the athame or a flashlight, easy pickings for the Shadowman. As Rachel went further to the back, Mary dove for her dropped flashlight. She waved it all around herself. There were no shadowy hands reaching for her, but she knew the Shadowman was going to get her. It would grab her and hold her and she’d go cold and die.
“Rachel, fall back!” Taryn yelled.
“Shine your light to the back to hold it,” Rachel said.
Picking herself up, Mary watched Rachel move deeper into the cellar. She had to get the dagger back. She wouldn’t be caught by the Shadowman again. She wasn’t giving it her shadow. The athame could kill it. It was their only hope against the Shadowman. The flashlights might keep it back, but the athame would save them. She rushed Rachel and threw herself at her.
They fell to the ground together.
“Mary!” Kyle yelled.
“Give me the athame!”
“Mary, what the hell are you doing?” Taryn yelled.
“This is really bad,” Eddie said.
Mary straddled Rachel’s waist. She clawed at her wrists. “Give me back the dagger!”
“Get off me!” Rachel yelled.
“Give me the dagger!”
“No!”
Kyle grabbed Mary around the waist and lifted her off Rachel.
“No, let go! It’s going to get me again. I have to get the knife back!” She tried to kick out of Kyle’s hold, but it didn’t work.
“Rachel, are you all right?” Taryn asked.
“I’m fine.” She turned to Mary. “It won’t get you if I kill it.”
Mary shook her head. This wasn’t going to work.
“Mary, calm down,” Kyle said, but nothing was going to calm her down until she got the athame back.
“Watch out!”
Harvey’s sudden shout made Mary stop struggling.
“Rach!” she yelled, but there wasn’t time to warn her. The Shadowman flew out of the dark, straight at Rachel. She held up the athame and made slashing motions. The Shadowman flew around her, barely getting hit by her attacks.
Kyle dragged Mary further back. She didn’t resist. If he weren’t holding her, she’d be high-tailing it out of the basement like she’d promised. She didn’t want to be down there anymore.
“I can’t get a hold of it. What should I do?”
Mary didn’t know what to tell Harvey.
“Mary?”
Her eyes were locked on the Shadowman. Its red eyes were now visible in the dark. The flashlights would flash on parts of it as it moved in a swirl around them. It looked just like the last one. Maybe it was the same one. Maybe she hadn’t killed it. It was going to jump into her shadow again. She’d have to fight it over and over because she couldn’t beat it. It would eventually win. It would take all of her animus until she was only a ghost herself.
“Taryn, get out of here!” Rachel shouted.
“Not without you!”
It was a romantic statement but foolhardy. The Shadowman easily dodged Rachel and made a swipe at Taryn. Its shadowy long claw passed through her and came out glittering. She cried out and fell to her knees.
“Taryn!”
Rachel rushed over and stabbed at the Shadowman, but it evaded her attacks. It flew around the room and came at Kyle and Mary. Kyle tried to pull Mary toward the exit, but she was paralyzed. It was going to get her.
“Mary, move!”
“Mary, look out!” Rachel shouted as she threw the dagger.
The athame spun through the air. It would have been epic if it had hit the Shadowman, but Rachel wasn’t a professional knife thrower. It flew through the air and missed it by several inches. The dagger would have hit Mary if Kyle hadn’t shoved her out of the way. The Shadowman swooped between the couple. The dagger hit the cinder block wall and fell to the dirt floor.
Mary dove for the knife. She grabbed the hilt and held it up, but there was no blade. She frantically searched for the blade, but it was hard to find because the flashlights had begun to flicker.
“We should go NOW,” Eddie said.
“Mary, come on,” Kyle said. He tried to get to her, but the Shadowman blocked him. The only way he was getting to her was through it.
Mary kept sweeping the dirt floor for the blade. She had to find it.
“Mary, leave it,” Rachel said.
“I can fix it.”
The flashlights were flickering more, and the light was dimming. Soon the only light would be from the open cellar doors.
Mary hissed as her hand closed around the blade. It bit into her hand cutting her. She tried to jam it back onto the hilt. But it had not fallen out, it had snapped off.
“Kyle, take this,” Taryn said, holding out a burning flare.
He grabbed it from her. Holding it up like a shield, he moved to get Mary.
“No, no, no,” Mary said, staring down at the two pieces of the dagger. Tears pricked her eyes, and a sob pushed out of her. She tried to jam the blade back onto the hilt again, but it was no good. It would never be whole again.
Kyle crouched down beside her and grabbed one of her arms. “Mary, forget it. We gotta go.”
“It’s broken, Kyle. Our only weapon’s gone.”
“Look out!” Rachel yelled.
The Shadowman was coming at them. Mary dropped the pieces of the dagger and shoved Kyle away.
He fell back, and she scrambled into the opposite direction. The Shadowman stopped over the abandoned dagger pieces. It seemed to be studying them. Mary’s blood was all over them.
It lifted away from the pieces and began to make the sickeningly familiar chittering noises as it advanced toward Mary. All the flashlights flickered off completely.
“Harvey?” Mary asked, crab-walking back.
The only lights that still worked were the glow sticks and flare and they didn’t offer enough light to deter the Shadowman.
“Mary, run to us!” Taryn said. The others were all standing in the square of light coming in from the cellar entrance. Taryn and Eddie were both holding onto Rachel to keep her from leaving them. Kyle was the only one still in the dark with her. She could see him in the dim light behind the Shadowman.
Mary couldn’t move. The Shadowman blocked her from the door.
Kyle jumped and waved his arms. “Hey, ugly, over here! Come on! Stop picking on girls!”
