sizzling electrical pop reported in my ears. Ben’s hand immediately jerked away in combination with his expletive- ridden yelp.
In that instant I knew what had to be done. This had grown beyond what I believed it to be. It was no longer a case of me, or even Felicity, stepping across the threshold into the world of the ethereal. The ethereal had come to us. Felicity may have stepped into its domain first, but it was on this side of the veil now. It was a physical manifestation, and it was making itself right at home. If I was to deal with it, I had to approach it as the unwanted houseguest it was.
The arc that occurred between Ben and me was the clue I needed. I was on the right track when I had tried to ground; I just hadn’t taken it far enough. I knew now that this could be brought to a screeching halt. All I needed to do was treat it like household electricity- I had to short it to ground and blow its fuse.
“G-g-gr-n-n-d-d,” I stammered as I pushed myself out of the chair and fell to my knees next to Felicity.
“WHAT?” Constance yelped.
“G-Ground!” I managed to spit the word out once again, this time without dividing it into a stream of stammered consonants.
Using the arm of the chair for leverage, I pulled myself to one knee and slipped my right arm in behind Felicity’s denim-covered knees. I forced myself to release my grip on her hand and worked my left arm partially behind her upper back as she continued to buck and tremble.
“What are you doing?!” Ben shouted at me.
I didn’t take time to answer him. I pushed myself upward and tried to pull Felicity along with me, but the awkward angle immediately worked against us. I lost my balance and fell forward, stumbling into the chair, barely catching myself against the opposite arm with my hastily extracted left hand.
I pushed back, breathing heavily as I concentrated on keeping myself from being sucked completely under by the preternatural riptide that was now tearing through my living room. I quickly pulled my right hand free and grasped my petite wife by both wrists then pulled her upward. For her to tip the scale at one hundred five pounds, she had to be fully clothed, soaking wet, and have rocks in her pockets; but at the moment she may as well have weighed ten times that much. She was dead weight with an attitude, and it was taking everything I had just to get her up out of the chair.
“ROWAN!” Ben bellowed again. “What the hell are you doing?!”
“Get back, Benjamin,” Helen ordered. “Give him some room.”
I threw my gaze in his direction as I dragged Felicity to her feet and steadied her body against mine. His face was a contorted mask of concern, as were Constance’s and Helen’s. The three of them were frantically moving about, trying to find a way to help but afraid to touch either of us after witnessing the severe jolt Ben had taken. Still, Ben was moving in on me with total disregard for himself, obviously willing to be bitten again if that was what it took.
“Benjamin,” Helen declared again. “Move away! I think I know what he’s doing. Give him room!”
“G-Ground!” I repeated, forcing the word out past my teeth as my jaw repeatedly clenched and released.
Ben shot a glance at his sister, then at me, but backpedaled as she had ordered. I stooped quickly and planted my shoulder into Felicity’s waist while slipping my arm around the backs of her thighs. She was still trembling spastically as I brought myself upright with her body folded over my shoulder. The combination of her weight and the violent jerking sent my sense of balance on hiatus, and I stumbled as I aimed myself toward the front door.
“Door. Get… The… Door…” I managed to chatter through my aching jaw.
Ben was already there, whipping it open and rushing through ahead of us to hold the screen door. I threw myself at the opening and thudded against the doorframe on the way through. I careened forward and staggered onto the porch, just barely catching myself before we tumbled down the front stairs. I steadied myself against a support pillar and grabbed the handrail.
Nothing happened.
Not even a tingle.
I couldn’t believe it. I knew that I had to be correct. If I wasn’t I had no idea what I was going to do. I looked down at my hand incredulously and realized immediately that the functional metal handhold was coated in plastic- a measure I had paid extra for in order to prevent rust and alleviate the need for painting. Now, it was my bane as it completely insulated me from the metal, negating the ground I was seeking. I instantly despised myself for the decision.
I had to find another piece of non-insulated metal to come into contact with, and I had to find it now. I looked toward the driveway at Ben’s van but discounted it immediately. The rubber tires were once again an insulator between the metal and earth ground. I whipped my head to the right and made my decision.
Still gripping the rail, I pushed off and started down the stairs as fast as I could without losing what little balance I had left. I could feel something warm and wet against my shoulder, and I knew without looking that yet another wound had to have appeared on Felicity’s pristine skin. I was gripped by the sudden fear that the wounds went deeper than merely the surface.
I hit the sidewalk and continued to my right, tripping over the grooves in the decorative flagstone walk as I hurried toward my new goal. I could hear Ben, Constance, and Helen behind me, but I didn’t have time to acknowledge their presence. My vision was beginning to tunnel, and I could feel my own hands beginning to curl into fists as my physical connection with Felicity fought to drag me under.
I continued to stumble forward and eventually lost my footing then fell heavily to my knees. The momentum of my crash carried me forward, and Felicity slid from my shoulder onto the grass. She was still seizing. Even in the darkness, I could see that fresh wounds had appeared on her arms and new, wet stains were spreading across her shirt.
I pushed up onto my hands and knees and looked ahead of myself. The dim, cylindrical vignette that had become my vision stretched out before me, appearing as an unfathomable distance with my objective well at the far end. I knew it couldn’t possibly be that far away, but my heart began to sink as I struggled with my now clubbed fists to pull Felicity back up.
I suddenly felt an icy hand pressed against my shoulder. Startled, I swung my head to the side and glanced up into the smiling face of the Dark Mother.
I twisted my head away, daring not to look any longer for fear of giving in and answering her beckoning call. Looking to the opposite side, I slammed my right hand hard against the ground, forcing it to spasm and uncurl. I quickly pushed my left fist into the palm to hold it open then managed to work it around Felicity’s trembling wrist as it closed tightly of its own accord. With a guttural scream, I physically threw myself forward, my left arm thrust in front of me as far as I could reach.
When my hand contacted the warm metal of the chain link fence, I was instantly deafened by the cacophonous snap of an electric arc.
Hot, white light flashed, and then my world faded to black.
CHAPTER 20:
Once again we were gathered in the kitchen- all of us except for Helen that is. A self-described chain smoker, once she was convinced that Felicity and I were okay, she had sequestered herself on our back deck for a nicotine fix.
I knew she was blaming herself for what had happened; she had told me as much. I tried to convince her otherwise, but I didn’t have much luck. Unfortunately, at the moment, I simply didn’t have the energy to force the subject. In the end, we agreed to talk it out at a later date. Still, I hated that she was going to brood over it until then. I knew she would too because that is exactly what I would do if I was in her place.
I felt myself sinking in the chair, probably looking much like Ben had only a few hours before. I was exhausted. My body chemistry was so out of balance I felt like I had been on a weeklong drunk and was only now starting to sober up. If I had any electrolytes left in my system, they were probably cringing behind some obscure internal organ in hopes they wouldn’t be obliterated as well.
