Page 39 of The Unseen

T HE STORM CONTINUED THROUGHOUT THE DAY AND INTO THE EVENING , the clouds growing thicker and blacker, the rain getting heavier, an occasional flash of lightning.

As the brass hands on the tall grandfather clock in the front parlor moved toward midnight, it was dark and quiet in the old mansion.

A pair of ornate rose glass kerosene lamps glowed on the sideboard, another burned on the bow-legged Queen Anne coffee table between the two velvet settees that faced each other in front of the marble hearth, the only illumination in the room.

Lucas introduced Sean to his tiny, silver-haired grandmother. Gabrielle, who loved children of all ages, immediately wrapped a protective arm around him and led him over to one of the settees, and they sat down, side by side.

Nicole and Rachel sat on the opposite velvet seat, Nicole holding on to her frail aunt’s hand.

Once everyone was comfortable, Lucas took a place in an antique French armchair facing the fireplace.

They all waited anxiously, the minutes slowly ticking past. When the clock struck midnight and still nothing happened, Sean began to fidget. A stern look from Grandmere and he settled back down.

More time slipped past. At the stroke of one, Grandmere’s lips began to move. Apparently, she had waited long enough. Lucas didn’t know exactly what she was saying, only that she was trying to communicate with the spirits in the house, to learn more about them, find out why they were there.

In the shadows cast by the glow of the lamps. Rachel looked pale and worried, her hands clasped tightly in her lap. Sean perched on the edge of his seat, unsure what to expect, his expression one of youthful anticipation mixed with a trace of fear.

Lucas’s gaze went to Nicole. Fine lines creased her forehead. Her green eyes were filled with concern as she held her aunt’s hand. She glanced at her brother and her eyes filled with the same worry for him. She looked at Lucas as if he were the only man in the world she trusted to help them.

Something tightened in his chest. Nicole needed him. She hadn’t come to accept that, but he prayed that in time she would.

And the truth was, Lucas needed her. The journey he was on wasn’t easy.

Nicole was the woman he wanted by his side, the woman he had been searching for, though he hadn’t realized it until now.

She was smart, kind, and caring, with an ability to communicate her thoughts and feelings through her work.

Nicole trusted him, but he needed more than that. He needed her to believe in him as a man. Believe in a future for the two of them.

He wasn’t sure he could make that happen.

Lucas forced himself to tune back into what was happening in the house.

He watched his grandmother’s lips continue to move as she silently spoke to the spirits.

She was beseeching them to tell their story, listening, telling them she understood, trying to make them see it was time for them to move on.

She told them they no longer belonged here, that it was time they continued their journey to the place they were supposed to be, instead of remaining earthbound for eternity.

Outside the wind strengthened, heavy gusts slamming into the side of the house, brutally shaking the windows.

A flash of lightning sliced through the ink-black sky; then a vicious crack of thunder rattled Rachel’s valuable collection of Meissen porcelain figurines in the bow-front glass display case against the wall, undoubtedly the most valuable antiques remaining in the house.

Nicole had told Lucas that Rachel refused to sell them, but the bills were stacking up. The time was near when she would have no choice.

Grandmere rose from the settee and picked up the kerosene lamp on the coffee table, the flame flickering as she started walking. Her lips still moving in silent entreaty, she began to wander around the parlor, pausing here and there as if she searched for something.

When she reached the doorway, she disappeared out into the hall.

Lucas could hear her footsteps on the stairs, climbing to the second floor.

With every step, the air in the parlor seemed to thicken, the light grow more dim.

A sour odor drifted into the room and a heavy pressure settled in his chest.

Both glass lamps on the sideboard flamed, then suddenly went out.

Rachel gasped. The silence returned. The darkness became so dense, it felt as if he could reach out and touch it.

The temperature dropped to an icy chill; it was so cold it penetrated deep in his bones.

He could feel her now, feel the evil that surrounded her as Simone’s presence swelled and grew until it filled the parlor.

“Coach?” The fear in Sean’s voice was unmistakable.

Lucas rose and quietly crossed to Grandmere’s empty place on the settee and sat down beside him.

“Take it easy. The entity would have to go through me to get to you, and I won’t let that happen.”

Some of the stiffness eased in Sean’s shoulders. Lucas cursed himself for allowing the boy to be there. They should have waited until Sean was back in school, would have if it hadn’t been for Rachel and what Simone might do.

Something shifted in the atmosphere, and he could feel the entity’s presence, a thick, greasy stain of evil that lurked in the darkness, waiting for an opening, a way to hurt someone.

Grandmere’s lamp glowed in the doorway as she returned to the parlor, illuminating the interior. There was just enough light to see a foggy white mist following in her wake, crawling across the floor, roiling and drifting, growing thicker. Ectoplasm building, taking the form of a ghostly presence.

Lucas squeezed Sean’s knee, reminding him to keep quiet as the faint outlines of a person began to take shape near the empty hearth. A man, dressed in old-fashioned clothes: a frock coat, white shirt and stock, tight breeches, and a pair of knee-high riding boots.

As the image materialized, Lucas could see he was tall and black-haired, a good-looking man with intense blue eyes.

“Francois …” Rachel’s voice was barely a whisper, but the semi-translucent figure turned at the sound and moved toward her. He spoke to her in French, telling her how beautiful she was, speaking words of love and devotion. Rachel began to weep.

Sean trembled.

“Easy …”

A deep rumble under the house slowly grew louder, until the floor trembled beneath their feet. Lightning flashed outside. Thunder cracked and rolled over the landscape for long, protracted seconds.

A woman’s harsh laughter split the air, and the house shook so hard the glass cabinet with the Meissen figures toppled over, smashing the curved glass front, spilling the contents onto the floor, shattering the valuable porcelain figures into bits and pieces.

Rachel shot to her feet. “You evil witch! Leave us alone!”

“Sit down, Rachel!” Lucas feared for her. It was dangerous to draw Simone’s attention as much as she already had. The entity was powerful and growing even stronger. Dammit, he wasn’t ready for this. He would have to deal with her soon, but it had to be in his own time, on his own terms.

“Rachel!” he commanded. She dropped back down on the settee and Nicole gripped her hand to keep her there.

Something flashed in the dim light in the parlor.

A brilliant white orb appeared and began to circle the room.

Lucas could feel the purity of the orb, the fierce will to protect.

The circle of light hovered over Rachel, then began moving again, circling faster and faster, growing larger, until the entire parlor filled with a fierce, blinding white light.

Simone’s shrill voice, viciously swearing a stream of filthy words, sliced through the quiet. Her ghostly, nearly transparent figure appeared, along with the smell of evil, dense and foul, unmistakable.

Lucas recognized the beautiful face, the woman in Nicole’s Spirit painting Simone.

Then the image began to change, the features twisting into a grotesque semblance of a woman, empty sockets for eyes, blood welling in their black depths, spilling over onto her bony cheeks.

Her lips parted, and a thin, serpentlike tongue slithered out.

Sean made a sound and Lucas gripped his knee in warning.

Above the ghastly image, the brilliant white orb exploded with the sound of a gunshot, scattering bits and pieces of sparkling light over the room.

Simone’s murderous scream sent chills down Lucas’s spine an instant before the hideous creature disappeared.

The room fell silent, the quiet stretching from seconds into minutes. Little by little, the heaviness in the atmosphere dissipated and the ghostly male figure began to fade. In seconds, the man had disappeared completely.

“Francois, wait!” Rachel called after him.

“He’s gone,” Lucas said, rising from the settee. “They’re both gone—at least for now.”

Sean rose beside him.

“You okay?” Lucas asked.

“I don’t know. I feel kind of shaky.” He glanced around at the room, which had returned to normal. “I can’t believe what just happened.”

“It’s not your everyday occurrence, that’s for sure.”

“None of the guys are going to believe me when I tell them what I saw.”

“You might want to give it some thought before you tell them any of this. You’re right—friends or not, they probably won’t believe you. You might not like the consequences when that happens.”

Sean made no reply.

Lucas went to Rachel. “Are you all right?”

Rachel bit her lip. “He was here. You saw him—Francois was here. Then she came.”

Lucas nodded. “They’re gone, but they’ll be back.”

He reached for Nicole, drew her up from the settee and into his arms. “How about you? Doing all right?”

She swallowed and he could feel her trembling. “I’m okay. It’s hard to believe what just happened, but … in a way, I’m beginning to accept this is just part of the circle of life and death.”

He led her over to where his grandmother stood next to the broken display case.

“She’s very strong, Lucas.” Grandmere lifted her gaze to his face. “And completely evil. She was that way even as a young woman.”

“And Francois?”

“Exactly the opposite. He’s a strong man with a kind heart.

From what I could gather, he was supposed to marry Simone, but he grew suspicious of her.

One day, he followed her to the family hunting cabin out on the bayou and caught her in bed with his brother.

Francois and Jules had a violent fight. Francois went home and ended his unofficial betrothal. ”

“Did Francois love Simone?” Rachel asked.

“It would have been a marriage of convenience arranged by his father, certainly not a love match. His father tried to convince him to forgive her, but Francois refused.”

“I didn’t think he could remember,” Rachel said.

“When he first returned to Belle Reve, he couldn’t. But little by little, he began to recall what had happened. He says Jules was younger, jealous of him and infatuated with Simone. She manipulated his brother into killing him. He says Simone was with Jules the day they murdered him.”

Rachel wiped away a tear and Nicole reached for her hand.

“What happened to Jules?” Rachel asked.

Grandmere’s shoulders straightened. “He’s exactly where a man who murdered his own brother should be. The place Simone needs to be.”

Rachel stiffened. “If he’s in hell, I’m glad. I know it’s wrong to say, but it’s true.”

Nicole leaned over and hugged her. “I know you love him, Aunt Rachel. I have no idea how any of this could happen, but the way he was with you tonight … I believe he loves you, too.”

Rachel’s lips trembled. “I want him to stay.”

Grandmere looked at her sadly. “He has to go on, Rachel. There’s a place waiting for him on the other side. He needs to go there.”

“You couldn’t convince him to leave?” Nicole asked.

“I tried, but he refused. He’s worried about Rachel. He’s staying here to protect her.”