she was here, near this crate when she died. If she came downstairs to check the panel, why did she end up over here?”
The light danced across a handful of palm-sized crystals in the shape of teardrops that lay on the floor near the body. Gwen followed the ray of light and was not surprised when a ghost appeared in one of the crystals.
“I knew you would get here sooner or later,” the specter said. “Took you long enough.”
Judson moved the light past the crystal. The ghostly image disappeared.
“Wait,” Gwen said. “Move the light back to those crystals on the floor.”
Judson did not ask any questions. He swept the beam back to the stones.
“See a ghost?” he asked matter-of-factly.
“Yes.” Gwen went toward the crystals.
“Ghost?” Nicole yelped, beyond terrified now. “You two are crazier than the old witch was.”
Gwen did not bother to respond to that. Neither did Judson. He kept the beam of light aimed at the crystals
Gwen crouched down to take a closer look. The ghost snorted in disgust.
“So much for that psychic talent of yours,” the ghost said. “What good does it do you? You’re always too late. Now you’ll have to live with the knowledge that you couldn’t save me from the demon, just like you couldn’t save Evelyn.”
“Don’t start with me,” Gwen said. “You’re the one who claimed to be a witch. Shouldn’t you have seen this coming? You knew I was in town. You could have picked up the phone. Except you don’t have a phone, do you? Or anything else in the way of technology.”
“Oh, shit,” Nicole whispered. “Does she really think she’s talking to Louise’s ghost?”
“Something like that,” Judson said. He kept the flashlight aimed at the crystals. “Keep quiet.”
“You want me to shut up?” Nicole was incensed. “She’s the one talking to a dead woman’s ghost.”
“You think that makes her weird?” Judson said. “You’re the one who had an affair with a serial killer.”
“Quiet, both of you,” Gwen said. “I need to concentrate. What were you doing here, Louise?”
“I knew all about your little problem with seeing ghosts at crime scenes, remember,” the ghost said.
“I remember,” Gwen said.
“Obviously, I came down here to see what was wrong with the electrical panel, but then the demon appeared. I knew that he had come to kill me. I was about to be murdered. I did my best to leave you a message.”
“You managed to open this box of crystals before you died,” Gwen said, looking the scene over.
“The demon didn’t understand that I was trying to leave a message for you.”
“Just like Evelyn did with the photo.” Gwen studied the scene, thinking. “Very few people know about my thing with ghosts.”
“No, you’ve kept that quiet all of your life, haven’t you?” the vision said.
“It’s awkward.”
“Tell me about it. I see demons, remember? At least I used to see them.”
Gwen opened her senses a little further, deepening the trance as she sought to see the unseen. “Tell me something I don’t already know.”
“I would if I could, but you know it doesn’t work that way. All I can do is lay a heavy guilt trip on you so that you’ll feel compelled to find the person who did this,” the ghost said.
“The first step is to figure out why someone would want to kill you.”
“Witches have never been popular, but we have our uses. Evelyn had need of my talents, remember?”
“How were you involved in this thing?” Gwen asked.
“Obviously, I knew something that Evelyn knew. After the demon got rid of her, he had to get rid of me, as well.”
“But why now?”
A violent series of hellish musical chords crashed through house. The explosion of wild notes charged the atmosphere with a fierce, painful energy. At the top of the stairs, Max screeched.
The dream-trance shattered, Gwen whirled around.
“Max,” she said.
The big cat was silhouetted against an ambient glow of ultra-light energy. His back was arched, his tail rigid. He snarled at something that could not be seen from the basement.
Nicole shrieked.
“What’s happening?” she yelped.
Gwen grabbed her shoulder. “Hush,” she whispered. She used a little energy to drive home the message.
Nicole stopped the earsplitting scream, but she started to shake uncontrollably. “There’s something here in this house, isn’t there? It’s going to kill us just like it killed Louise.”
Judson was at the top of the stairs, flattened against the wall. He looked down the hallway in the same direction that Max was staring.
“There’s no one in the house,” he said. “But there’s too much energy building in the atmosphere. We’re getting out of here now.”
Gwen gave Nicole a firm push toward the stairs. “Go.”
Nicole rushed up the steps. Gwen followed.
The ghostly music of the clashing chimes howled and shrieked through the house, penetrating the very walls. The floorboards shuddered under Gwen’s feet.
Judson led the way back toward the front door. For the first time, Gwen noticed that his ring was hot.
“What’s going on?” she asked.
“I’m not sure,” he said. “But these damn wind chimes are churning up some serious energy. It feels like the music has reached a critical point and now the currents are oscillating out of control.”
Nicole reached the top of the stairs. “I don’t understand. The music is horrible, but how could it be dangerous?”
“I don’t think any of us wants to hang around to find out,” Judson said. He looked at Gwen. “You two go first. Head for the car and do not stop running until you’re both inside. Got that?”
“Yes,” Gwen said.
Nicole was hysterical now. Gwen half dragged, half pushed her through the house. Max stayed close, so close that Gwen was afraid she or Nicole would trip over him. That was the last thing they needed.
The clashing and clanging and rattling of the chimes grew more wildly discordant. The sense of rising energy was thick in the air.
The chimes rose to a senses-shocking crescendo just as they reached the living room. A paranormal storm exploded around them. The raging currents of fiery music crashed like powerful waves, churning the atmosphere.
Instinctively, Gwen fought the onslaught by heightening her talent. It worked to some degree, shielding her senses from the worst of the energy, but she knew she could not keep up such a high level of counterforce for long.
Nicole gave a choked scream and fainted. The suddenness of her collapse caused Gwen to lose her grip on the other woman. Nicole crumpled to the floor in an untidy heap. Max screeched.
The path to the front door was blocked by a cascade of searing energy.
Judson reached up and grabbed the nearest sculpture suspended from the ceiling. Gwen saw the shudder that went through him when he made physical contact with the dancing wind chimes. He gritted his teeth against what she knew had to be a sharp jolt to his senses. He yanked the chimes from the hook and smashed the device on the floor.
The green crystals, each framed in a strip of dark metal, clattered and thrashed and then fell silent. But the dark music in the house grew louder and more ferocious. The paranormal flames flared higher.
“So much for that tactic,” Judson said. “The energy storm is blocking every route out of the house. We’re
