“What about before the settlers—the family who lost their father? Was the land used for anything by any of the local tribes?” I asked.
Charles flipped through his notes. “Actually, no. In Native lore, that area was considered dangerous. It was known as ‘the forest of secrets’ and they left it alone, giving it a wide berth. They believed that it was a gateway into a place of madness.”
I shivered. “Have you talked to anyone from the tribe lately? To see if they still feel that way?”
“Actually, I did, this morning. Old Jim Solomon, one of my contacts whenever I talk to the Lhaq'temish or the Lummi People, told me that they still avoid the area. In fact, they tried to warn Leeland about it. They told him that building his facility there would just exacerbate the illnesses of the inmates. The land seems to be under an ancient curse, but nobody knows where it came from, and nothing can be done to negate it. Jim told me that the tribe has tried to cleanse it, witches have tried to exorcise it, and a few Christian priests tried to bless it, but no one has managed to even make a dent in the energy there.” He paused, giving me a shrug.
“Sometimes, the land itself takes on an anger and when that happens, it’s almost impossible to appease it.” I stared at him, then turned off the recorder. “Do you think we can manage to clear out this thing that’s taken hold there? Not the land, I get that it’s probably doomed to stay a dark place, but the hydra creature?”
“With a lot of work, you might be able to dislodge it and send it on its way, but if you take it on, be certain you understand what you’re doing and what you’re dealing with. Don’t underestimate it.”
And with that, the interview was over. I thanked Charles and he invited me back any time I might need some information on town history. I took his card and in turn wrote down my number for him, then headed out to my car. As I eased out of the parking lot and slowly made my way along the icy streets, back to the office, it occurred to me that this was one case Conjure Ink might not be able to solve. The best thing might be to just destroy the asylum and build a wall around the acreage.
Chapter Nine
“And that’s everything I’ve found out so far,” I said, pushing my notes back. I was sitting at the table with the others. It was nearly 5:30, and I had just finished telling them about everything that had happened out at the asylum and everything I’d talked to Charles about.
“I honestly doubt we can cleanse the land, but we might be able to clear that creature out of there. I think Charles is right, now that I’ve had time to mull it over. Whatever I sensed in there feels…bigger…if you know what I mean. I’ve dealt with plenty of ghosts in my life, and this felt like a conglomerate.”
Hank let out a long sigh. “I can tell you this,” he said. “If that thing has some elemental or something woven into the mix, it’s going to be hell to dislodge. So, the next step—we’ll be going in there with cameras, a FLIR—”
“A what?” I asked. He had pronounced it like the ‘flur’ in ‘flurry’.
“FLIR—Forward Looking Infra-Red. It’s a device that records localized temperature variations and changes—kind of like night vision goggles. We also want to set up sound recorders, along with Evie.”
“Evie?” I asked.
“That’s my pet name for our EMF device. It records electromagnetic field radiation.” He turned to Tad. “So, time frame? I recommend we go in midday and stay till the next morning.”
I stared at him. “Go in and stay? You’re kidding, right?” I had no intention on camping out in that hellhole of a place. At least not alone.
“No, I’m not joking, and we’re all going. We go as a team. We need everybody there, not only for safety’s sake, but to be certain we don’t miss anything.” Hank shook his head. “Sometimes, we also take a couple of grunt buddies, so we have some muscle with us.”
“Grunt buddy?” I had never heard the term but it was pretty self-explanatory. “I take it they’re the brawn?”
Tad spoke up. “They’re brawn, all right, but both Shawn and Dell have damned good brains on them. They’re bear shifters, and they have one advantage that we don’t. Bear shifters can’t be charmed or possessed unless it’s by a bear spirit. And that doesn’t happen very often.”
He pushed his glasses up—they kept sliding down his nose—as he looked through my notes. “So Crichton thinks this place is cursed? He errs on the conservative side, so we may well be dealing with some very heavy land magic.”
“Actually, it’s more common than you might think,” I said. “My mother used to talk about her great-grandmother, who came from Ireland. She said there are some places out in the bogs, the land is soaked in blood and cursed. The ghosts have all sort of run together to form a cloud of malaise.”
“I suppose, anywhere a great battle took place will be tinged by all the bloodshed,” Caitlin said. “So what day do we go in? I refuse to work on Saturday—that’s the day of the Winter Carnival and I won’t miss it.”
“I vote for tomorrow night—Thursday night,” Hank said. “I have a date Friday night.”
Tad shrugged. “Thursday night it is. Bring a sleeping bag, backpack of supplies, whatever else you might need.” He turned to me. “If you don’t have a sleeping bag or camping supplies, we do have some extras. We’ll leave here tomorrow at noon and get set up before dark.”
I was seriously disconcerted. I didn’t want anything to do with staying the night out there. My alarms were shrieking full tilt. It occurred to me to ask Ari to come along. She was also a powerful witch and she had more practice than I had lately.
“Can I bring a friend? She’s… Consider her magical brawn.”
“Fine, if she can keep her mouth shut,” Tad said. “I admit, this case sounds a lot more dicey than ones we’ve investigated before, but we can do this. Okay, that’s a wrap for today. See you tomorrow. Bring your gear.” He paused, turning to me. “Conjure Ink promises to do the best work we can for our clients. We’d be lax if we just told them we thought they shouldn’t buy it without at least seeing if we can’t negate some of the negative energy out there.”
And with that, we were done for the day. As I walked to my car, I wondered again about the job. I liked it, and I felt like I was part of something bigger than myself. But the thought of staying the night in that complex set me on edge and, as I drove through the increasing gloom, I kept asking myself if this was really worth it.
I called Ari the minute I got home and she told me she’d be over in a few minutes. Then I called Killian, inviting him over. I had promised him dinner. While I was waiting for them, I made grilled ham and cheese sandwiches, opened a large can of tomato soup, and decided against salad as too much rabbit food.
By the time Ari got there, dinner was almost ready. Killian followed a few minutes after. We gathered around the table, and I broke out my mother’s china, thinking again how much I missed my parents. As I set the table, Ari poured wine all around, and Killian took out the trash for me.