Authors: Terri Reid
Anderson
slid out from under him and kicked him with both feet. Paul, hurtling across
the tile floor, rammed his head into the solid metal table pedestal that held
up the rack and was knocked unconscious.
Eloise screamed and pulled against
the strip as she watched Anderson stand and walk over to the remote. He picked
it up and wiped the blood off his face with his forearm. He was breathing
heavy, his face flushed and his eyes narrowed.
“I’m going to kill you like I
killed all of those others,” he screamed.
Eloise twisted her wrist against
the strap, pulling with all of her might.
“I thought you liked the killing to
go slow,” she said. “I thought you liked to play.”
He shook his head. “You’re just
trying to confuse me,” he said. “You don’t want me, you want the Major.”
“If you kill me, I’ll haunt you
like all the others,” she said. “I can see them, all of the women you killed in
this room. They’re here, and they are angry.”
Anderson
looked nervously around the room. “You’re lying to me.”
“The black woman you killed is
standing next to you,” Eloise said, “Next to the place you killed her.”
Anderson
turned sharply to his side. “You’re lying,” he cried.
“And the Hispanic girl that you
stretched on the rack? She’s behind you.”
Anderson
turned back. “No, no, they’re not here anymore, I killed them.”
“But you can feel them, can’t you,
Sergeant. Just like on the beach, you can feel the spirits who surround you.
The spirits who call out for vengeance.”
Anderson
turned back and glared at Eloise. “You’re the one. You’re the one that brought
them here. You’re bad, just like great-great-grandma said. You’re bad and
you’re going to die.’
Anderson
raised the remote and pointed. He moved to press the contact button when a
shot rang out in the room. Anderson looked down, a look of surprise on his face
at the circle of blood spreading across his chest.
Eloise turned and saw Paul drop his
gun and struggle to his feet.
“Eloise, you’ve got to get free.”
She cut against the final fibers of
the strap. Only two more to go and she would be free. Anderson looked up and with
his final bit of strength deliberately pressed the contact button. He tottered backwards
and fell into the gaping jaws of the Iron Maiden.
Eloise pulled at her hand; the
strap broke just as the guillotine was released. She threw her body forward
and felt the huge blade crash into the table just inches behind her.
Paul ran to Eloise, gathering her
close. She wrapped her arms around his neck and held him tight.
“You could have died,” he said, pulling
back and looking at the large piece of metal embedded in the table, “If you
hadn’t been able...”
Eloise took Paul’s face in her
hands. “Paul, you’re bleeding, you’re hurt…”
Paul looked at the welts on
Eloise’s wrists and brought them to his lips.
“I thought I was going to lose
you,” he murmured, his voice taut with emotion, “Dammit, Eloise, I can’t lose
you.”
Suddenly they heard a clang of
metal against metal, they turned and saw the doors of the Iron Maiden being
closed and latched by unseen hands.
“My feelings exactly,” Eloise
whispered.
“El, Paul, where are you?” Sally’s
voice came from the hall.
“We’re here, through the closet,”
Paul shouted.
Sally led Sergeant Turner and a
group of six law enforcement officers into the hidden room. Sally’s eyes grew
wide as she entered the room and saw the assortment of torture devices. Then
she saw the pool of blood growing beneath the Iron Maiden.
“If it’s all the same to you, I
think I’ll wait outside,” Sally said, turning and walking out of the room.
“Sergeant Turner,” Paul said. “I
would appreciate if you would help these officers with any information they
need. I’m going to ensure that Ms. Parker is cared for first, then I’ll be back
to answer any questions.”
Sergeant Turner looked around the
room, sadness in his eyes. He walked over to the Iron Maiden and shook his head.
Then he turned to Eloise. “I am deeply sorry, ma’am, I never suspected…” he
began.
“Of course you didn’t, Sergeant,”
Eloise said, “None of us suspected him.”
Paul cut the remaining straps and lifted
Eloise into his arms.
“I know you can probably walk,” he
said, before she could protest. “But let me do this little thing for you,
okay?”
Eloise nodded and smiled a little.
“You know, I’m not sure I can walk, Major.”
“Sergeant Turner,” Eloise said,
“There are some… some remains of victims on the shelves in the cabinet. Please
make sure they fall into the right hands.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Sergeant Turner
assured her.
Paul carried her down the stairs
and outside the house. He continued across the lawn and through a grove of
willow trees.
“Paul?” Eloise asked.
Paul shrugged his shoulders, “I
don’t know what it is, but I know this place.”
They found the gazebo in the midst
of the willow trees. Paul walked up the steps and placed her gingerly on her
feet, keeping his arms around her waist.
“Can you stand?” he asked.
Eloise looked up at him. “Yes, I
think I’m fine.”
Paul leaned his forehead against
hers. “I’ve been through wars, Eloise. I’ve worked with the Special Forces.
I’ve seen things that would horrify most people. But I have to tell you that
this – seeing you strapped to that table, knowing that he would kill you if I
didn’t beat him –was the most terrifying experience I’ve ever had.”
“I was so afraid that he was going
to kill you,” Eloise whispered, tears streaming down her face, “I was so
frightened… I didn’t want you to die for me.”
Paul tenderly wiped away her tears
and cupped her face in his hands.
“Do you think my life would have
been worth living without you?” he asked.
He pulled her closer and kissed her
tenderly, his lips barely skimming hers.
“Eloise, I love you,” he whispered.
Then he tightened his arms around her and kissed her deeply. Eloise tightened
her arms around his neck and kissed him back with all the emotion she was
feeling inside – love, relief, and passion. She felt the love growing and burning
inside of her and let it flow from her to him. She moved closer, threading her
hands through his hair.
He kissed her again and again,
whispering her name, murmuring endearments, making her heart pound and her
knees go weak.
“Paul,” she whispered tenderly,
knowing that he was the only man she would ever love.
He raised his head and met her
eyes. They were filled with such tenderness and concern, such love for her.
Her heart burst and she opened her mouth to tell him how much she loved him.
She started to speak when, looking over his shoulder, she saw them. Hundreds,
perhaps thousands, of spirits surrounding the gazebo. There were spirits of
Civil War soldiers, American Indians, people dressed in turn of the century
clothing, slaves, and even more contemporarily dressed spirits.
“Eloise, oh, no, please don’t tell
me that it’s happened again,” Paul groaned and turned to look out onto the
empty field. “What do you see?”
“So many spirits, from all periods
of times, still waiting for someone to help them,” she said sadly, her eyes
never leaving the view in front of her.
Paul sighed and sadly stepped away
from Eloise. He took her hand and led her off the gazebo.
“Come on, you can’t deal with this
today. I’m taking you home.”
“Okay, normally I wouldn’t think of
sticking my nose in where it doesn’t belong,” Sally said, as she watched Paul
and Eloise not make eye contact with each other for several hours, “But seeing
as how tomorrow may be the end of the world, I’ve just got to ask, what
happened between you two?”
Eloise, sitting at the kitchen
counter, shook her head, “Nothing, it was nothing.”
Paul walked over and pounded a fist
on the countertop. “Like hell it was nothing. As soon as I start to kiss you
the gates of hell break open and there are dead people from three different centuries
standing before you.”
Sally, sitting on the computer
desk, whistled. “Three centuries, that’s pretty powerful.”
Eloise shook her head. “It’s not
power,” she snapped. “If I had power I could do something for them. It’s not
power, it’s just pain.”
Sally pondered Eloise’s comment for
a moment and then hopped down from the desk and pulled out a Guass meter. “El,
can this meter measure the amount of power that you give off when you help a
spirit pass on?”
Eloise shrugged, “I think so, why?”
“Have you ever measured yourself, you
know, done a reading?”
“Once during training camp we were
measured to see how powerful our levels were,” she said. “I was pretty
powerful. I came in at about six hundred.”
Sally nodded her head and switched
on the meter. “I have a theory that I’d like to test, if you two are game.”
Paul shook his head. “Great,
another theory where I get to be a guinea pig.”
Sally grinned. “I think you’re
going to like this one.”
Eloise was instantly wary. “What?
What are you planning on doing?”
“Tell me,” Sally asked, ignoring
Eloise’s question. “What happens when a large group of spirits find their way
over?”
Eloise turned around on the stool
and faced Sally. “Often there’s a powerful vortex formed. So powerful that you
can be drawn in with them.”
Sally nodded. “So, even some spirits
that might not want to go could be drawn in with the rest of the spirits.”
Eloise nodded. “Sure that could
happen.”
“Okay, then if this works the way I
think it will, I think we might have found the way to get rid of Delphine.”
“What?” Eloise asked.
“Paul, I want you to walk over to
Eloise and kiss her for all you’re worth,” Sally said.
Paul stared in disbelief for a
moment and then grinned. “You’re right; I am going to like this experiment.”
He walked over and took Eloise in
his arms.
“Wait,” Eloise began to protest.
Paul shrugged, “Sorry, sweetheart,
this is for science.”
Paul started with a slow exploring
kiss, softly urging Eloise to open her mouth and let him sample her sweetness.
Then, as Eloise complied, he deepened the kiss tasting her and teasing her, making
her burn with passion. Eloise moaned and wrapped her arms around Paul, holding
on tightly as her world spun.
Sally looked down at the Gauss
meter and saw that the reading exceeded 2100 on the scale. She smiled and
nodded.
“Okay, that’s good,” Sally said,
switching off the meter.
Paul and Eloise continued to kiss,
lost in their own fervent experiment.
“I said, that’s all I need,” Sally
called out again. Sally tapped her foot against the floor for a few minutes, as
the two, oblivious to the rest of the world, continued to kiss.
“You know, I’d really like to let
you two continue and then I could just go to bed,” she said, and then she
yelled. “BUT WE HAVE TO STOP DELPHINE TOMORROW.”
Paul and Eloise broke apart, both
breathing heavily, both still caught in each other’s gazes. Paul moved
backwards and perched on the edge of a stool.
“So, how was the test?” Paul asked,
his eyes never leaving Eloise’s.
“It was good,” Sally smirked.
“That’s great,” Eloise sighed,
swallowing hard as she gazed at Paul.
Sally walked past the two and went
over to the sink. She turned on the cold water full force and then picked up
the sink sprayer and turned it on Paul and Eloise.
“Hey!” they both screamed as they
were hit with cold pellets of water.
Sally grinned. “Sorry, I always
heard that a cold shower helped.”
Before either one could do her
bodily harm, Sally hopped up on the counter and announced, “I know why you see
dead people when you and Paul make out.”
“We are not making out,” Eloise
said, blushing.
“Sure we are,” Paul said, chuckling.
“Okay, genius, what’s the deal?”
“When you two are together,” she
said, “the Gauss meter readings are out of this world. You two exceeded 2100
and you weren’t even trying.”
“So what does that mean?” Paul
asked.
Eloise turned to him with a
tremulous smile on her face. “It means that when we’re together, our power is
so strong that we can help spirits who have been trapped here a long time.
That’s why I can see them, because we can help them.”
Paul walked over to Eloise and took
her hands in his. “Then, us... being together, it’s not a bad thing for you.”
Eloise stood up and shook her
head. “No, it’s a wonderful thing. That’s what they all meant, the power we
have when we’re together. I just needed to have faith in us.”
Paul lifted Eloise’s hands to his
lips and kissed each one. Then he turned to Sally, “So, how do we use it to
stop Delphine?”