Page 26 of Rattling Bone (OutFoxing the Paranormal #2)
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
The cold was so intense it shocked the breath out of Oscar. His boots, coat, and layers of clothes dragged him down, into the crystalline depths.
Then a figure cut through the water and grabbed his hand, tugging him upwards.
Dad had jumped in to save him, and if they didn’t both get back out fast, the cold would kill them.
Oscar managed to shuck his coat, letting go of Dad’s hand to free himself of its weight. He kicked hard, forcing his muscles to move even when they wanted to lock into place in the freezing water. It was easier without the waterlogged coat, and within seconds his head broke the surface.
He took a heaving gasp, the frigid air searing his lungs. Dad came up beside him, gasping and sputtering.
“We need to get out,” Oscar said through chattering teeth. The water was leaching the warmth from his body fast; already his fingers and toes were going numb and his movements slowing. He struck out for the side, grabbed ahold of the iron railing—then froze.
Agnes circled toward him. If he climbed out, she’d be ready to push him back in.
The water. They had to try the water on her.
Oscar scooped up water in his palm and threw it in her direction. She jittered back, too fast for him to track the movement, and as far as he could tell none of the drops actually reached her.
“Sp-splash her,” he said through lips going numb.
Dad tried, flailing his arms, but had no better luck.
They were going to die here, succumb to the cold and drown, and all Agnes had to do was stand back and watch.
“T-Take me!” Dad said. “I’ll climb out, you can do whatever you want to me, but leave Oscar alone.”
Oscar reached for him. “Dad, no!”
But Dad had already hoisted himself up and over the railing. He stood shivering in front of Agnes, facing her with a look of mixed fear and determination on his face. “You took my mama from me, you damned haint, but you’re not getting my son.”
Agnes floated closer, her mouth twisting into an inhuman grin. “How do you mean to stop me?”
“Like this!” Chris yelled from the broken doorway, and hurled a handful of salt through her back.
Several things happened at once. Her attention broken, Agnes turned to the new threat in the doorway. Oscar reached up, out of the water, and Dad helped haul him over the railing.
And Nigel darted past Chris, a dirty bundle clutched to his chest.
He flung the bundle in an arc, high over the water. It came apart in the air: old bones caked with dirt and fragments of rotting cloth. They struck the water, sending up splashes high into the air, then sank immediately to the bottom.
Agnes recoiled toward the door, a ghastly shriek erupting from her rotting throat. Chris flung more salt at her back, and she cried out again. For a moment, she hovered between the twin threats of water and salt.
Then she began to advance into the springhouse again. For a terrible moment, Oscar thought the bones had made no difference, that Nigel had simply thrown away the only talisman they might be able to use to control her.
But with every footstep closer, she changed. Her flesh filled out, her dress went from tattered to whole, and her hair no longer dripped with water. Eyes that carried more confusion than anger sought his gaze.
Oscar was shaking from the cold, but he nevertheless took a step toward her. Dad grabbed his arm. “Don’t!”
“It’s okay,” he said, gently pulling free. “I have a job to do.”
He faced Agnes, taking her in. She looked heartbreakingly young, her life cut so short.
“I’m sorry for what happened to you,” he said. “But it’s over now.”
Her gaze drifted to the spring. “He found me here, when this was mine. His hands were so strong. ‘If you want this spring, then have it.’ The water burned when it filled my lungs.”
“Ivan Corbett was a monster,” Oscar agreed. “But you’ve had your revenge many times over. It’s time for you to go.” He took a deep breath and said, “Agnes Dillon, be at peace. Leave this place, and trouble the living no more.”
Between one moment and the next, she vanished, leaving behind only a sigh.