Soul-Bonded to the Alien(43)

She reached out and touched Cal allowing the glow from him to warm her. All she needed to make this strange day perfect was to see Vick’s smiling face.





*~*~*~*





The house was eerie; surely this wasn’t what it really looked like. A cloud of darkness surrounded it, making the one Selma generated look like a spring day. Ghouls seemed to be floating in the air, ghost like. It was definitely giving off stay away from me signs. Maybe the Sudir shrouded it in an illusion to encourage anyone who found it not to stop. It was a huge two story structure covered in what could have been vines if they didn’t look like fangs hanging down to rip the unwary traveler in half. The vines from the bonding test flashed in her mind making her wonder if the Sudir had been able to influence what happened there. They stood at the bottom of the steps covered in darkness.

“Rylan,” Victor’s voice rang out loud, “How long do we have?”

Rylan breathed in deeply like he was tasting the air around him.

“Thirty minutes, maybe,” he replied in a loud clear voice.

“When this is over I am taking you both to the movies to see whatever spy, espionage movie is playing. Haven’t you ever heard of stealth and quietness?” Paige’s voice was somber as she scolded them.

Victor gave her a hard smile. “We want him to hear us.”

Paige looked around and shut up; whatever it took to get Vick back.

Selma stepped on the first stair leading to the porch wrapped in an eerie glow much like the cast of the moon on a dark night. An image, only seen because it was darker than the gloomy shadows around them, raced for her. It hit against the glow screeching as it died before their eyes.

“Four more steps,” Cal whispered as Selma stood on the next step repeating the experience.

Selma’s eerie glow was diminishing as she prepared to step onto the porch. Victor walked up the steps behind her casually splaying his hand over her back. The glow began to regenerate, glowing brighter. She cast him a smile before squaring her shoulders and stepping on the porch.

Dark gloomy forms attacked her from all sides; they covered her, pulling her to her knees battering against the glow that surrounded her. Victor started to step up. Stopping suddenly, he turned to look at Cal with a frown before turning back to watch Selma intently. Selma’s raised hand stopped him.

“What’s happening?” Paige asked Cal as she stepped closer to him.

“Selma is fighting for the right to enter the house. The Sudir has guarded the house with Spectral Anomalies. He has led them to believe he has a right to Vick. They will now protect both the Sudir and Vick from any outside interference. In order to get in, Selma must prove her claim and our claim to Vick. She has asked Victor to stay back, I have no answer for that.”

Selma dropped under the weight of the Anomalies that attacked her. The darkness was now filled with a silence that was unnatural. Slowly the Anomalies began to back off one at a time until Selma could be seen prone on the porch.

No one moved until finally a groan of pain could be heard coming from her. Victor was at her side picking her up, checking to see how much damage she sustained. She stood balancing herself with her hands on his chest.

“Now,” Selma spoke in a strong voice belittling the fight she just endured, “the real battle begins.”

She turned to look at the door before shaking off any lingering effects of the Anomalies and headed towards her son.





Chapter Eighteen




The inside of the house caused Paige to breathe normally, her heartbeat slowed and her pulse stopped trying to jump out of her wrist. That, in and of itself, caused her skin to crawl as the hairs on the back of her neck stood up. Something wasn’t right here.

They walked into an entryway any home would be proud to sport. It was large and well lit; there was a bench to sit on to remove shoes or boots, a closet for winter coats. There also wasn’t one shadow, spider, or Anomaly in sight. The fingers walking up her spine agreed this wasn’t right.

“What am I missing?” Paige asked, looking around.

“Everything,” Cal replied reaching out to draw her closer to him mentally.

“Look through my eyes, Paige.”

Her pulse kicked up barely keeping her blood in her veins while her heart shuddered it beat so fast. This house was beyond any horror she could dream of. The Sudir had several decomposing animal bodies strewn across the floor and several other bodies under covers and she was almost sure at least one of them was human. Cleanliness was obviously a word he didn’t know. She shivered unable to un-see now that her eyes were opened.

“Where’s Vick?” Every eye turned to Rylan at Victor’s question.