Page 114 of The Curse of Redwood

“Thank you.” Callum placed the bundle in the center of the salt pentagram and undid the wrapping.

My stomach knotted when I saw a human skull.

Once leaving the circle, Callum turned to Zeke. “It might be best if you stayed away during the ritual. The spirit possessing Carter is someone you once cared deeply for, and it might sway your judgement.”

“I’m not leaving him,” Zeke said, putting his arm around my waist. “Carter’s safety is all I care for. Do what you must to save him. Nothing else matters.”

“Very well.” Callum turned to the circle and put out his hands in the air over it. He didn’t say anything out loud, but I saw his lips moving.

I jumped when all the candles lit.

Then, the other ghosts in the mansion started to appear. William and Rose stood on the staircase looking down at us. Others appeared on the second-floor balcony and in the corridor to the left of us. None of them said a word. They just watched. Waited in silence.

Zeke pulled me closer and dropped his head to kiss my neck. He was shaking. Or was it me? I wasn’t sure.

Callum looked at me over his shoulder, and his eyes glowed a soft orange, like embers in a fire. “I need you to be brave, Carter. Clear your mind of negativity. Focus on your lover’s face. Let him give you strength if need be. I can’t begin until the defense sigil breaks, so you will need to fight the entity for control long enough for me to summon him to the salt pentagram.”

“O-Okay, I’ll t-try,” I stammered, feeling like I was going to puke. The true weight of the moment didn’t hit until right then.

“I’m right here with you, little dove,” Zeke whispered in my ear. “Always.”

His wordsdidgive me strength. I deeply inhaled and turned to him, staring up into the eyes I adored. The clock began to chime. One. Two. Three gongs. Leading up to nine. I leaned up and kissed Zeke. His hand knotted in my hair as he kissed me back, putting a lifetime of kisses into a single second. The clock struck seven, then eight. We pulled apart.

“Prepare yourself,” Callum said, before tilting his head up and holding his arms out at his sides. “It’s time.”

The place over my heart burned, and I fell to my knees with a soft cry. Ifeltthe sigil break. All at once, my body lost all strength and I slumped the rest of the way to the floor. Zeke was saying something as he grabbed me, but I couldn’t make out his words. Callum began to chant, soft at first then louder.

“You’re mine now,” a deep voice said in my mind.

“No,” I hissed through clenched teeth. “I won’t let you win.”

“You fool. I already have.”

And then I screamed. My back slammed against the hard floor and arched upward with a pop. Something moved under my skin, swimming through my veins like an electric current. I had no control over my movements as I thrashed around. Tears streamed down my cheeks as I fought against the invisible force.

It hurt so much. Not a physical hurt… no, this pain seared into my soul. It felt like I was being ripped apart from the inside. Then, in the darkness, there was a speck of light.

“Zeke,” I cried, as his face came into focus. “I’m scared.”

He brought me to his chest, cupping the back of my head. “Oh, my sweet boy. You have to fight it.” As I cried out again, he whimpered and rocked me. “Please fight it.”

“Too… strong.” My teeth rattled as I violently convulsed.

“The pain can end,” the voice whispered. “All you need to do is stop fighting.”

Then I sensed it, a comforting nothingness beneath the pain. I reached out for it, just wanting all of this to stop. The voice beckoned me on, and as numbness took me over, I smiled at the relief. I was free from it all; from the pain. From the heartache.

“Carter?” Zeke shook me as I stilled in his arms. His frantic eyes filled my vision. In the background, I heard Callum’s chants increase in volume. He spoke faster, louder, the words spoken in another language.

“You can’t save him,” I said in a voice that wasn’t mine. Like before when Philip spoke through me, it was deeper. Inhuman.

“No,” Zeke said, his voice cracking as he grabbed my face. His eyes searched mine, but I knew he didn’t see me staring back at him. “Let him go. You can’t have him.”

“Is that so?” I shoved him away and stood on shaking legs before steadying myself on the table beside me. “But he’s already mine.”

The sensation felt like a dream. I could see and hear everything, but I wasn’t actually participating. It was as though I was watching it all happen through a movie screen. I felt nothing. And it was blissful, the nothingness.

“Callum!” Zeke shouted. “Hurry and summon him to the circle.”