Jane appeared out of thin air next to the closet. Her body wasn’t as clear as before out front. She pointed at me and then the hole in the floor.
“No can do, Jane.” I backed away from it. “I’m not going down there.”
She scowled, her chin lifting. She pointed at me again and then the closet floor, more forcefully this time.
“No way. I know what’s down there. Besides, how do I know you are really Jane this time? Yesterday, what I thought was you turned out to be that tricky devil instead.”
She looked down at her hands for a moment, then over at Jerry’s desk. The middle desk drawer slid open.
Rounding the desk, I stared down at a scratch pad Jerry kept in there. Words appeared on the paper as if written by an invisible hand.
Your … boyfriend … broke … my … rule.
I nodded, remembering when Doc had used his office as a temporary hotel room for a week or so during the motorcycle rally, which went against his rental contract. “Okay, but maybe the lidérc can access that memory by reading your mind.” After all, it had dug through Rex’s mind to find the first time he had seen me sitting on that bench back at college.
More words appeared: Must … hide … it … is … coming.
I glanced at the door and then back at where she stood next to the closet, still hesitant to go down through that trapdoor again.
How could I tell if she was really Jane when the lidérc was able to read minds? I needed to think of some … Oh!
I had an idea. It was risky, but worth a try. I grabbed the letter opener from Jerry’s drawer just in case. It was thin and dull, but there was a good point on the end that would certainly gouge out an eyeball.
Fudge. I needed to start carrying an armory in my purse.
“If you’re really my old friend Jane Grimes,” I said to her ghost, “why don’t you come over here and hug me?”
This would be exactly what the lidérc wanted, me welcoming its parasitic hug with open arms.
Jane tipped her head to one side and then the other, then she pointed toward the open drawer.
I looked down.
Not … a … hugger.
Relief washed over me, leaving a smile in its wake. “I’ve missed you, Jane.”
Something thumped against the office door. My grip tightened on the letter opener.
“Violet!” Cornelius called through the door. “Are you okay?” The knob turned, but the door held tight. “Why did you lock yourself in your boss’s office?”
I hadn’t. Jane must have sealed it as she had the closet in the past.
I started for the door, but Jane shifted, barring the way. She shook her head.
Hesitating, I stopped in the middle of the room, my thoughts flying. Cornelius needed to get the hell out of Calamity Jane’s. It was too risky with Rex out there somewhere.
But maybe he’d brought the mirror.
What if it wasn’t really Cornelius on the other side of that door?
Shit. There was no use pretending I wasn’t in here. He’d probably already seen me in here on one of his monitors next door.
“I’m fine, Cornelius.” But I didn’t sound fine at all.
“Not from what I saw a few minutes ago. You need to contact the Tall Medium right now.”
He’d been watching? Oh God, where was Rex?
“Cornelius, you need to leave. Rex is still out there.”
“Your ex is passed out on the floor with a dent in his forehead.”
“Is he still alive?”
“He’s bleeding and there’s a pulse.” I heard Cornelius groan through the door. “Violet, the lidérc is here.”
“I know!” I clenched my hands together, my chest tight with fear for him. “You need to run. Go get help.”
“Send a text,” he said, his voice sounding strained. “I left my phone next door.”
I lifted my phone, pulling up the group text. “Do you know where the lidérc is?” I asked him while tapping out a message: Devil is here. Need mirror! I hit the send button.
“Yes. I can see it.”
I froze. “Jesus, Cornelius. Run!”
“Violet, it’s already inside of me.”
What!? “No!” I took a step toward the door. “Please tell me you’re kidding.”
“You know I never joke about toy poodles or malevolent spirits.”
Yeah, I did, but I’d forgotten about the stupid poodles. “Shit!” I covered my eyes with my hand, trying to think how I could help him.
“Listen to me, Violet.” He sounded very tired and winded, gasping for breath. “I can only hold onto it for a little longer. Then it will be free to come for you again, so you need to be somewhere safe when I let it out.”
How in the hell was he holding onto it? I didn’t think humans had a chance against a lidérc.
“Tell the Tall Medium to bring the mirror and be ready for a hostile entity that will drain him of energy within minutes.” I heard him wheeze a couple of times. “Can you crawl out the window in there?”
“Yes,” I lied, lowering my hand, and typed a second message. If Cornelius didn’t have his phone, then I knew where to have Doc meet me, but he’d need Cooper to get there. I read over my message quickly, making sure my autocorrect didn’t screw this one up: It has Cornelius. Going into Hellhole. Meet me under courthouse.
I hit send and made sure the message was delivered before pocketing the cell phone.
“Get out of there, Violet,” Cornelius said, his voice barely more than a whisper now. “It’s too strong.”
Without another word to Cornelius, I shoved open the office window, wincing at the blast of cold air. Then I raced over to the closet and crawled down through the trapdoor.
The closet door immediately closed behind me, and then the trapdoor flipped shut, too.
Son of a bitch! I was stuck in the dark with the damned Hellhole again.
Chapter Twenty-Two
There was no candle waiting on the cobblestone floor to light my way this time. It was just
