Chapter 23

Twenty-Three

D ane

Walter sat beside me through the interview, frowning most of the time. I wasn't really sure how a story on the news was going to help us, but the man had been nice about it.

"Thank you so much for your time, Mr. Miller. Detective."

We shook hands with him, and then he told his crew they were finished. Gene came over to talk to Cooper as his crew took down the camera and lights.

"You okay here for a minute? I want to go find Denny and see what the guy who attacked Ryan had to say."

"I'm fine."

He squeezed my hand and took off for the kitchen.

Kal and Ryan hadn't been around for a while. I figured they were in their room, since Ryan probably needed to rest after his interaction. I thought I'd take a peek and see if they needed anything, but as I passed the doorway to my room, I saw the board sitting on the bed.

I hadn't left it there.

But I'd been thinking about it, hadn't I? That I could use the board and put an end to this.

I stood next to the bed and stared down at it, the shakes coming on strong. How could I help? What could I ask that would bring this insanity to a halt?

"How did it go with the reporter?"

I spun around to find Kal in the doorway. His gaze landed on the board.

"It went fine. I?—"

"I'll use it with you. I'm not afraid. Let's see what we can find out."

I nodded at him, knowing Kal would be the perfect person to use the board with. He understood the magic of the carnival, and he and I were… connected somehow.

"Kal, I don't want you to be upset by what happens. I know it was hard for Walter and Ryan."

"I know what it's like to see disturbing things. I'm not afraid of the board. I'm afraid of these men coming back and hurting Ryan or any of you again. This has to stop. I will help you. We can do what the police cannot."

Kal stepped in and closed the door behind him, then he sat on the floor, his long legs crossed.

I guess we were doing this.

I placed the board between us on the floor.

"What should we ask?" I asked Kal, rubbing my hands together.

"What do we need to know to end this situation?"

We stared at each other for several beats.

"That's actually the perfect question," I finally said. We both placed our fingers on the planchette, and I took a deep breath. "What do we need to know to end this situation?"

Almost immediately my vision darkened, and I felt the sensation of being sucked down a tunnel.

"I am here, Dee Dee. I won't let go."

I felt stronger with Kal beside me, holding my hand. It was as if he was sharing whatever essence he'd brought with him from the carnival. We couldn't have spent time in that place and not absorbed some of its magic and power. Certainly my experiences with the board had grown more vivid and intense during my time there.

The darkness was broken by the illumination of one lightbulb after another flicking on along a cinderblock hallway, the same one I'd seen with Walter.

"Virgil is here." I wasn't sure if I'd spoken aloud or if Kal and I were somehow psychically linked, but suddenly Kal's face was there.

I felt him squeeze my hand, and I was grateful for the connection.

A voice… someone humming… came from the darkness at the end of the hallway and suddenly the last bulbs lit up, revealing an open doorway. The bald man stood just inside, looking into a dark pit.

"I wondered when you'd find me."

We moved closer to him, and then he turned around.

This time I saw his face, and I recognized him instantly.

"Welcome, Dane, to your final resting place. Or at least, the place where I plan to watch your life bleed out."

How could he see me? No one else I'd seen in these visions could see me.

"When you spend as long as I did in prison, you learn all kinds of things about yourself. You develop certain skills to protect yourself, or, in my case, to find pleasure. I had no way of drawing blood from others when I was locked in a cinderblock cell, so I learned how to make others do it for me. Eventually, creating a psychic link with others became as easy as breathing. And at my age, with my debilitating physical limitations, I learned to take great pleasure in watching my sentinels carry out my work. You've met Hunter. He's been my greatest pupil, so eager to do what I ask of him. But there are others… and as long as I live, they will do my bidding."

One word kept echoing through my mind. Why?

"I've always loved the sight of blood. As a young man, I waited patiently for the scenes in movies where they'd show bloodshed. Others might scream or flee in fright, but I became… excited . And then it wasn't enough to see it. I needed to cause it. Believe me, I'm well aware of the psychological implications, and I freely admit that I'm the textbook example of a subject with paraphilia.

"By the time I met you, I hadn't yet graduated to humans, but that night at Buttonwillow… ohhh . I'd been working the late shift when I saw your van pull into the parking lot. I thought mistakenly that Tess would be with you. She was my obsession, my hope for some sort of normalcy in my life. She was to be my salvation. With her, I could have a wife, a happy home… but you were always in the damn way. I saw my opportunity to remove an obstacle that night, and to finally spill the blood of a human. I delighted in spilling yours. It was perfect, you were perfect—until that cop showed up. I was able to hide you before he came back, but then that fucking carny appeared out of nowhere and stole you from me!"

"So you killed others." Kal loomed next to me with that forehead crinkle of his cutting into his flesh between heavy brows. How could he speak? I'd never been able to speak or even move during one of these visions. This was alarming. I didn't like this at all. Kal shouldn't be talking to him. This was wrong!

"To sate my thirst, yes. But when I was finally allowed to see Tess, she was useless to me. I knew better than to strike in my social circle, but I couldn't help myself. I couldn't bear to watch her waste away, pining for another man, even if it was her queer best friend. I could have made her happy, given her a child. But no . She was lifeless before I even drew my blade."

The shadows across his face morphed into a hazy gray, and it dawned on me… that's why I hadn't remembered his face. Perhaps in addition to his ability to create a psychic link, he'd learned to mask himself.

"Oh, did you want to see her, Dane? She's here, along with all the others. They're waiting for you."

He gestured with his hand, and a moment before we were sucked out of the vision, the view before us shifted from him to…

Bones.

Piles of them.

So many bodies.

And in the foreground, I saw the bones of a hand reaching out, and her silver bracelets, one of which had our initials engraved together. A gift for her thirtieth birthday from her best friend. She never took it off.

I screamed as the blackness pulled me away.

"Dee Dee, it's okay, you're safe!"

Kal tried to calm me even as the door flew open and people poured into the room, reaching for me.

"Paper! Paper and pen now !

My heart beat so hard it bruised my ribs, my throat felt as if it had been shredded by glass, but the words were there.

"Here."

It was Gene, I think. I didn't take the time to worry about who was there or what they were seeing. I began to write as fast as my hand could move.

Deep in a hillside

Forgotten by most

A man resides

As death's morbid host

His chamber houses

His myriad trophies

They lie in repose

Full of macabre stories

Of anger and fear,

Betrayal and violence

Their voices and spirits

So long have been silenced

The morbid host

And his insatiable need

Their life's essence

Taken by his greed

But there is a light

He didn't account for

A shining survivor

To settle the score

He spotted the numbers

Written on the door

Caltrans Maintenance

H-two-one-eight-five-four

The morbid host

His vessel is weak

Though his sentinels

Still hear him speak

They grow weary

Of their terrible task

They hope for a sign

For mercy they'll ask

Only the hunter

Wishes for peace

And with one last task

He'll find his release

The end grows near

The showdown is soon

In the hidden chamber

By the light of the moon

It's time to reveal

This terrible truth

to unleash vengeance

where evil has roots

To defeat this monster

You have all you need

To bring them justice

and allow them to be freed

"He's going over—Walter," Gene cried out.

I dropped the pen and felt darkness pulling me under, but this wasn't like the tunnel, and this one smelled like honey.

"Walter," I sighed as his strong arms caught me.

I heard someone ripping the paper out of the notebook as Walter lifted me and set me down on the bed.

"Someone get Caltrans on the phone. We need to find this place."

"What's going on here?" Was that Cooper? He was still here?

"Kal? What can you tell us?"

"Is he okay?"

Walter's voice was so close to my ear, the gentle rumbling of his speech against my cheek. "It's taking more out of him every time."

"I'm okay," I tried to say, but he shushed me. I couldn't open my eyes, and I felt sleep pulling me under.

"It was Virgil Evans. He has her there. Tess. Her bracelet."

"Sleep, honey. Rest now. It's okay."